Blood
by Minrubi Axelsson
Summary: Finally he turned away from the cage, and unintentionally locked eyes with mudblood Granger across the room for a fleeting second. Repulsion poured through him, burning through his aristocratic veins at the sight of the petite girl. *Extreme OOC, AU, and slightly dark. If you tend to favor intense characters, suspense, and the darker side of fantasy, then this story is for you.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: This is intended for a mature and broad-minded audience due to unwanted physical encounters, vulgarity, emotional conflicts, and abnegation. I strongly believe my story might end being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: **Hi there! Alrighty, so my story does not follow any of the books. It will have some twists to it, as you read I'm confident you'll be able to decipher them. This is my first time writing, so please be nice! Thank you for your time as well. Hope you like! Oh, and review! Getting some reviews would be lovely. ****

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><p>Chapter One<p>

"Mins undergo a transmutation when they are going to attack. They are quite violent, and lovingly cruel. Do not try to outrun a min. The blood of a male and female will reverse the transformation, although this somehow causes the min to create a blood bond between the two individuals. The side effects of creating such a blood bond are quite severe..." explained the new teacher of Deadly and Rare Magical creatures. Her piercing voice and equally piercing emerald green eyes were set on forcing the students to pay attention. Most students were paying attention.

Draco Malfoy simply stopped listening to the educator once she said that the blood of a male and female were needed in order to reverse the transformation. Curiosity got the best of him when he heard that shocking revelation. As far as he was concerned only very powerful magical creatures required blood to be sealed. He walked around the classroom and paused momentarily in front of the bird cage that the teacher was pointing towards, letting his silver grey eyes search into the cage in vain attempt to discover what lurked inside it.

The foul creature was in plain view mere seconds ago, yet when Draco wanted to see it up close and personal it had hid under the shadow that was cast inside the cage because of the small blanket that sat on top of it. The teacher kept rambling on. She was still green, if she thought Draco was going to listen to her. It wasn't as if he was going to ever run into such an uncommon and ghastly creature outside of this bloody classroom. He was so bored of this useless class. The mention of an upcoming test for this new class, only reminded him of his anger at being required to take this class in the first place. He hadn't even paid full attention to anything the teacher had said, and had defiantly refused to perform the practice spells on the creature when she asked or more so commanded the students to do so. He wasn't one to be commanded to do anything.

Draco couldn't help the smirk that spread across his handsome face at the gasps and surprised expressions of his classmates. If he failed this test it wouldn't affect his grades in the least. He, unlike most of the other students, could afford to fail this ridiculous class. Finally he turned away from the cage, and unintentionally locked eyes with mudblood Granger across the room for a fleeting second. Repulsion poured through him, burning through his aristocratic veins at the sight of the petite witch.

For once she wasn't paying attention to the educator with rapt admiration in her big brown eyes. Against his will, he started to reason that, like him, even the filthy mudblood knew that the chances of running into such an extremely rare creature were very, very slim. Her short height that so harshly contrasted with his tall stature made it difficult for him to peer into her now downcast gaze, but he could've sworn he saw her eyes tearing up. The merest trace of a smirk came upon his lips as he suddenly recalled how this very morning she had fallen, hit her head, and landed in an ungraceful heap in front of the Slytherin table. Blaise had the audacity to help her, while he merely wished the fall had at least given her a concussion.

He slightly squinted when she looked up again, to see the formation of a bruise on her forehead. Unbeknownst to the tall and malicious boy, the slight slip of a girl that he was currently looking at was recalling the same unpleasant incident.

Hermione Granger felt her chest constrict as she replayed the incident of this morning in her bruised head. Everyone had pointed and laughed at her. Ron and Harry were too busy with their new conquests and had actually joined in and laughed at her misfortune.

Harry and Ron didn't seem to notice how their new bitter behavior towards her affected her. They were once friends. They no longer wanted to be seen with her and they tried their hardest to evade her. She knew that they had grown up and would rather partake in carnal pleasures, than keep her company in the library, but she still could not comprehend why they didn't want to be seen with her. Sighing, and ending her depressive thoughts, she raised her hand to answer a question, yet she hastily brought it down as she realized she didn't know the answer. She had completely missed the lesson! Heat rushed to her face.

Draco stared at the blush staining her cheeks and silently laughed. Hermione froze as she felt someone's gaze lingering on her. Draco, on the other hand, gave her a cold glare when her eyes finally met his once more. Dread wrapped its icy grip on her heart as she saw Malfoy's hatred for her clearly etched on his porcelain face. Hermione looked away as quickly as possible. Malfoy frightened her. She had heard innumerable rumors of his cruelty.

"Sometimes I question how someone as formless and plain as her could even be considered a girl. I'm going to have to shut my eyes the whole time, and pretend it's a pretty witch," Blaise Zabini confessed to Theodore Nott.

Draco finally turned and took notice of the two boys that had now stepped to his right and left side. A delicate silvery blond brow arched in Blaise's direction. Blaise Zabini was almost as tall as him, had dark hair, and was bronzed by the sun. Draco couldn't understand why he'd choose to bed an ugly witch when he was sure one of his decent looking fan girls would be more than willing.

"Who's the unlucky witch?" asked Draco in a teasing manner.

Blaise pretended to be offended and said, "I'll have you know that any witch that I choose to fuck should consider herself downright blessed." Theo looked amused at Blaise's comeback.

"I see," chuckled Draco. After the amusement had faded from the trio, Blaise sobered up and his face grew serious.

"The mudblood," he confessed to Draco.

Theo and Blaise both glanced in Draco's direction, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Why would you even contemplate getting close enough to touch the mudblood? That's just disgusting," said the blond boy in a sharp voice. He whirled around to look over his shoulder to the girl in question with a bewildered expression.

Blaise sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry, Drake. I still dislike her kind, but I'm not going to lose to Theo. As for this morning... it was necessary. If I'm going to deflower her, first I need to get on her good side. Besides, sex is sex," explained Blaise with a shrug.

"What? Theo? Why would you want her? She's not remotely attractive. Virgins aren't even fun," added Draco. He was perplexed beyond reason as to why his best mates were willing to sully themselves with her.

Theo's hazel eyes flashed fire for a second and he heatedly replied to Draco's question, "You're right, they're not, but Blaise here thinks that he's more talented with the witches than me. Naturally, we made a bet."

The leader of the trio was about to question the nature of the disturbing bet when Blaise whispered into his ear and explained the bet. Once he was done, Draco felt nauseous. He wanted to throw up at the thought of touching the filthy mudblood. He was silent for a minute, but then proceeded in warning his companions to leave him out of their twisted little bet. Theo and Blaise nodded in understanding. Both knew Draco would never participate in a bet that included sleeping with a mudblood. They, on the other hand, had no quarrel with the concept of sleeping around with witches that weren't purebloods.

Class was dismissed. As the Slytherin boys gathered their belongings to head over to the Slytherin common room, Blaise's striking cerulean eyes looked over at Hermione and caught her gaze as she was leaving the classroom. He smiled at her and she returned a small awkward smile.

Blaise laughed and gave a soft pat to Theo's back as soon as she was out of sight.

Hermione was so bothered about the lesson she had missed, that she never paused to notice how three of the most notorious wizards of the school kept staring at her. She was too engrossed in thinking of a way to pass a test on a creature that she knew nothing about. Her stomach was churning at the possibility of failing this new class.

She pushed away strands of her wavy golden-brown hair from her face as she walked to the Great Hall, to reveal that she was walking unaccompanied with no students around her. Suddenly she felt very tired and alone. Squaring her thin shoulders, she braced herself for the long day she knew was ahead of her.

**. . .**

After dinner, Draco was on his way to meet up with Theo for a round of chess in the Slytherin common room when he noticed a girl coming towards him. He inwardly groaned as he recognized who she was.

"Draco!" yelled Pansy Parkinson as she ran to embrace him. "Stop, "he commanded. He pulled out of her grasp. Any wizard would deem him mad for distancing himself from the tall, curvy witch. Though, he would deem any wizard mad himself, if they were willing to put up with her clingy behavior.

She pouted at him, yet the undying love she held for the cold blond was clearly shinning in her bright eyes.

"I want to wear your necklace. May I, please?" she inquired as she tried to wrap herself around him once again.

Draco sighed in annoyance, she already knew the answer. She always asked the same question.

He never let anyone wear his necklace. It represented the Malfoy name and had been passed down from generation to generation. There was no way in hell he was going to trust it into the hands of Pansy.

Besides, he knew she only wanted to wear it to show off.

His gaze searched her blue eyes as she smiled up at him. He was disturbed at how she never gave up hope in him one day returning her obsessive feelings.

"Pansy, I've already told you. I will in no way let you wear-" began Draco as she put her long hands on his chest and began to snake them up his neck.

A muffled sob interrupted his scathing answer. Draco was slightly taken aback at the girl's unexpected cry. She sounded far too hurt. She was used to his cool, nonchalant manners and responses. What the hell was she sobbing about anyway?

He saw as she retracted her arms to her sides, shook her head, and looked away from him. "You gave it to someone else!" she accused in a shrieking voice. Draco finally realized what she was referring to. The luxurious platinum necklace that usually adorned his graceful neck was missing. Without a sound or bothering to give a reason, he walked away leaving a weeping pansy in his wake.

Hours later, only silence, darkness, and the howling of the wind greeted Draco as he stepped inside yet another room.

He rushed into every classroom that he came across while walking through the restricted and deserted section of the school. His silvery blond brows drew together in a scowl. He had been searching for hours to no avail. He couldn't find the damn necklace.

Draco swore under his breath, he was sure he has lost it here somewhere when the impatient witch he had shagged senseless last night had torn at his robes to get to his lean, sculpted body.

As much as he had scanned with the light protruding from his wand, he couldn't find it.

It was his favorite necklace, too.

Well, actually, it was his only necklace.

"Probably worth more than half of the students in this wretched school," he whispered to the air.

He sagged in defeat. He placed his wand back into his robes. The blond was about to head back to his personal dorm room when a shadow up in front of his view caught his attention.

The illumination of the full moon provided him with enough light to see the outline of the shadow, but not with enough light to discover the identity of the lone stranger.

He was beginning to get a tad bit interested. Judging by the small size of the shadow, he safely assumed it was a girl, a tiny girl at that. Draco studied the shadow from a careful distance and was puzzled when he noticed the girl carrying what appeared to be a bird cage and a book.

**. . .**

Hermione thought that someone was watching her. She could have sworn that she heard footsteps, but she simply convinced herself that she was only nervous.

After all, it wasn't everyday that she broke curfew. In spite of her own reassurances, her instincts were practically screaming at her. Perhaps it was the fearful creature she had borrowed without permission that was making her nervous. It did keep glaring at her with those scarlet eyes after all.

She shuddered.

To the untrained eye the creature within the cage seemed to be a tiny bird, but upon close inspection its blood red eyes, razor-sharp uneven teeth, jagged wings, and disfigured orange shriveled body gave it away to be a min.

Hermione didn't like to break school rules, but she didn't want to lose points on her next Deadly and Rare Magical creatures test, simply because she hadn't paid attention during a lesson.

She took a deep breath and pushed her silly thoughts to the back of her mind. Something wasn't right, though. She could sense it, but couldn't name it.

She abruptly stopped when she heard a soft noise behind her. Wiping at the sweat on her forehead, Hermione turned her head ever so slightly to look behind her.

Draco finally came to the conclusion that the witch gliding along the hallway was in no way a frequent visitor of the restricted area of the school.

She hesitated too much, and also witches that came here at these hours came for one thing only and they sure as hell didn't hesitate. In addition, he knew from experience that they didn't carry books or cages with them. The girl wasn't dressed for the occasion, either.

The lone figure was dressed far too modestly and her hair was a mess. He kept following until she turned to look back.

A second before their eyes were about to meet, a flash of lighting lit up the hallway.

He heard her sudden intake of breath. She erratically ran inside a random room. Draco's adrenaline pumped in as he walked faster. A predatory gleam in his eye as the identity of the girl dawned on him.

What could she, of all people, be doing in a restricted area in the middle of the night?

He had barely stepped inside the room when he saw a heavy book flying towards him. His quick reflexes from Quidditch saved him from being knocked out by a bloody book.

The diminutive girl tried to back away from him, but he grabbed her wrist in a viselike grip. She tried to yank her wrist from his painful grasp while begging for him to release her.

"Shut up, mudblood," he growled. He saw her bite her lip, suppressing her whimpers of pain. He was enjoying seeing her quiver in fear.

Hermione's helplessness filled her with sheer gut wrenching panic. She tilted her head back to gaze into her captor's cold calculating eyes. They were assessing her. She had to get away, now. She tried to spit in his face, and as a result he suddenly released her so quickly that she flew back.

With a cry of distress, the bird cage flew out of her hand, and Hermione landed on her back with a sickening thud.

From her sprawled position, she saw him lift up his left hand to wipe at his face, even though the girl had missed completely. He let out a curse, outrage crawling into his stormy grey eyes.

The girl rolled away and struggled to get up. She almost succeeded in doing so, when she felt a polished boot press down on her abdomen.

Draco pushed down harder until she made a small sound that sounded something like a choked howl.

She was shaking.

He was smirking.

"That'll cost you," he threatened.

Draco looked her over, well as much as he could with only the moonlight. He saw the way her big brown eyes were filled with terror and she kept glancing nervously at the cage that was behind him. His eyes narrowed as he realized her terror filled gaze was fixed on the empty cage and not him.

"Please... Let me go. I'll do anything," she begged for a second time.

He scoffed."I don't want anything from a filthy mudblood," he replied.

Her small dainty hands tried to pry his boot off of her, which only incensed him further.

He quickly leaned down and easily picked her up by the collar in a fluid motion.

Hermione's already tender back painfully hit the wall behind her as he abruptly slammed her against it and let go of her. She landed on her feet and was about to run towards the cage when she realized that a strong body was caging her to the wall. Her entire body stiffened. He heard her struggle for breath at the feel of his large hands upon her delicate throat.

"Mudbloods are so easy to break," he whispered in a dangerous voice.

She could feel the rippling muscles in his arms contracting as she struggled to claw at them to release his hold of her neck.

Draco could feel her boyish slender body pressed against his, and he was shocked at how small she really was under all the garments she wore.

Her mouth had gone utterly dry, her head felt fuzzy. She thought he was going to kill her.

Out of nowhere, a blinding light lit up the room.

They both shut their eyes at the unwelcoming brightness.

Once they opened them, a seemingly small silhouette in the corner of the room kept growing in stature. To Hermione's horror, she quickly realized the min was transforming.

A tall frightening woman with blood red eyes, wrinkled orange skin, and long stringy black hair finally materialized before them. She had long sharpened talons for nails. Her wicked smile revealed a mouthful of small sharp teeth like a shark. The creature smelled of decayed flesh.

Hermione's glazed eyes widened in shock and she attempted to leap back, but Draco held her in place, by switching his hold on her throat to her wrist, again. Hermione looked away from the horrifying creature as it licked its black lips with a forked tongue that had blisters on it.

Meanwhile, Draco drew out his wand and approached it. Before Draco could question or curse the min, it lunged at him.

Hermione screamed as she saw how the min tackled and ripped at Draco's flesh. She immediately used a spell that bound the creature in magical chains.

The min let out a screeching noise followed by a long hiss of rage as it fell to the floor like a rag doll.

Hermione had briefly read about the min creature in her book, but was hoping to learn more about it when she studied it tonight. However, she did know that mins ate wizards and witches, and were voracious.

Hot tears that burned her eyes like liquid fire began to pour down her pale cheeks, despite her efforts to halt them. She found it difficult to be valiant when she was being faced with the daunting possibility of being eaten by a min or strangled to death by Malfoy.

"Flesh," announced the creature in a hoarse, demonic voice. The min was sniffing the air.

Hermione's eyes met with Malfoy's.

Draco could clearly see the mudblood's fear in her eyes, because of the bright light that had engulfed the room. He could also see the way his blood was splattered on the wall and floor.

"Malfoy, are you all right?" she questioned as she ran over towards him.

Hermione froze, and held her breath as she reached out to stem the blood flow of the gashes across his chest and arm.

"I'm fine, don't touch me," he spat as he stumbled to regain his footing without her assistance.

Hermione exhaled as she saw his wounds were bleeding badly, but were merely superficial.

Draco knew that the mudblood had a heart of gold and would help anyone, but he didn't want her hands on his person.

To Hermione, Malfoy almost looked like an angel of death as he rose to his full height with malice and the promise of retribution very evident in the depths of his silver grey eyes. His aggressive stance towards the creature made her feel oddly protected, although, she was wary of the creature because at any moment the chains could shatter.

"Mal-Malfoy, we have to seal it. If we don't it's going to kill us and... Devour us," whispered the small girl in a trembling voice.

"Look, mudblood, just shut up, stay out of the way, and let me handle this," he arrogantly replied.

The girl seemed to ignore his comment.

"They can't be destroyed by magic, but when they revert back to their bird like form they are perfectly harmless. We need to reverse the transformation," she replied as she was attempting to walk to the entrance of the room.

Draco knew the mudblood was about to go and get the heavy book to read about a possible solution, but as he saw the min struggle to break the already weakened chains; he knew they didn't have enough time for that, besides he just had a flashback of piercing emerald green eyes.

He reached inside his boot to produce the small dagger he always carried with him.

Hermione was about to reach for the book she had brought with her, when she felt a sharp agonizing pain in her left arm. Before she could process what had just transpired, she realized that Malfoy was dragging her towards the creature against her will.

"Stop this! Are you mad?" she questioned in a terror filled voice.

Draco ignored her words.

He extended his free wounded arm over the creature and let his precious pure blood drip into its mouth.

The min's forked blistered tongue greedily lapped at the ruby red raindrops of blood that were flowing down the side of its mouth.

Hermione's arm had gone numb, and fear gripped at her heart as Malfoy pushed her towards the min. Blood was seeping from her mysterious injury that she couldn't inspect.

"Let it drink your blood," commanded Malfoy.

Hermione gasped and shook her head as she tried to run back to the book.

Draco caught her.

She tried to twist free of Draco's grasp.

He was strong.

She was weak.

He forcefully grabbed her bleeding arm and extended it over the creature's awaiting mouth.

Once Hermione's blood was ingested, the creature let out an ear splitting screech.

The min's body doubled over. It attempted to crawl once the chains were broken, but its body rippled with what appeared to be extreme pain. Its orange shriveled body stretched and twisted at unnatural angles. Blood combined with some sort of blue tinted liquid bubbled out of its mouth. There was a loud pop and at once the darkness returned to the room.

In the middle of the classroom lay the small bird like body of the min.

Hermione went across the room to pick up the bird cage with shaky hands. She was about to head back towards the bird, but Malfoy was there first.

Draco Malfoy was livid. This damn bird nearly killed him. The min's crimson eyes looked up at him in a taunting manner. He saw the mudblood approaching from the corner of his eye. She cautioned him to be careful in a fearful voice, even as he arrogantly bent down to examine the hideous thing without fear.

He decided it didn't deserve to be cursed by him.

Draco smirked and raised his boot and brought it down upon the creature.

A bone crushing sound was heard.

Hermione witnessed in dismay as he killed the now helpless min.

Draco straightened up to his full 6'3" height and glanced over at Hermione. "You're next," he said with a sadistic grin on his face.

The small girl made a dash for the door, but soon realized she couldn't open it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

********Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.********

********A/N: Thank you everyone for the kind reviews. They made me smile. Thank you in advance for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too! ********

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Alarmed, Hermione turned around and looked nervously from side to side for any sort of possibility to escape. Draco peered down to the splattered mess that lay at his feet. He incautiously withdrew his boot from the corpse, and proceeded to scrape off the gory remains that stubbornly clung to the sole. His lowered gaze began to slowly lift and finally settled on the closed door, then on the girl. Taking a bold step forward, Draco uttered a small gasp. His heart began to beat wildly as his body became engulfed by a bizarre coldness that nearly brought him to his knees. Never is his life had he experienced anything like it. The strange feeling was frighteningly indescribable.

Across the room, in front of the door, Hermione stopped her frantic search to openly gawk the wizard's bewildered expression. Malfoy's eyes were huge. She nearly gulped. What the blazes could he, out of all the seemingly fearless individuals in existence, be scared of?

Her tawny eyes widened in horror as the blood that once decorated the wall behind Malfoy started to slither down in small red streaks. Trembling violently, she pressed her back against the door. It looked as if the wall was weeping. The descending streams kept moving forward and soon grew in width as they attracted and absorbed any drop of blood that had originated from the blond boy's wounds. Eventually the scarlet streams reached the min's mangled body, yet carefully avoided it and continued on their path.

Draco remained frozen as chaos raged inside him, until a wet sound from behind brought him out of his stupor. He tried to turn around, but could not. It felt as though an unseen force was keeping him still as a statue, only his eyes held mobility. Draco's pulse raced as he heard the odd sound behind him getting louder and closer. His anxiousness was now so severe that he nearly missed how Hermione's distressed shuddering had ceased as well.

He followed her wary gaze and looked down at his injured chest and arm in alarm as the blood that once covered his wounds started trickling down his body in little rivulets, leaving smoothly healed ivory skin behind.

Hermione could only stare at the sticky fluid that kept slowly approaching in her direction. The multiple streams of blood finally connected together to create a long and thin river that came to a small halt in front of her. She didn't know what to make of it. Before she could come up with a theory it started to move again, but this time at an accelerated pace.

Draco's gaze hardened considerably as he saw his precious blood so close to the mudblood, yet bewilderment crept into his grey eyes once again as he watched the blood slowly crawl up the girl's leg.

Hermione silently screamed as she felt his blood somehow skim over her heavy layers of clothing, and gain access to her uncovered skin that lay underneath. She could feel the blood heading towards her arm that was almost numb again with the pain of her mysterious injury that turned out to be an extremely deep slash.

The unmoving wizard watched in disdain as the scarlet stream started to seep onto the mudblood's bloodied and wounded arm. He couldn't stand the sight of his pure blood intertwining with hers, let alone watching it enter into her contaminated veins. The blood pouring into Hermione's wound rapidly dwindled. As soon as the blood vanished into her bloodstream, she and Draco both visibly sagged. Whatever enthrallment they were under had come to an end.

Swallowing hard, Draco fought off the urge to vomit. In a twisted way, he was inside her. His pale hand crept down to his now healed chest and arm. He took a step towards the demure girl that was also marveling at the unmarred skin of her own arm.

"What did you do to me?" he bit out between clenched teeth.

Hermione jolted at the sound of his angry voice.

Slowly, carefully, she peered at his face. He clenched his jaw at her lack of a reply. To her astonishment she didn't outright cry or scream, but then again the intensity of his glare frightened her so much that she highly doubted her dry mouth could produce a noise. Surely, he wouldn't blame this weird phenomenon on her.

Draco, after seeing her silent expression, tried once more. "Mudblood, I asked you a question. Why did you steal my blood?" he snapped. Her delicate chin rose in an attempt to hide her fear when he began to advance towards her, but he saw right through it.

"Yes, Mudblood, you should be afraid, stealing something so pure will cost you," he insulted.

Once she heard those vaguely familiar words, memories of what he had nearly done earlier flooded to her.

Her instincts kicked in. She reached out blindly behind her and released a sigh of relief when the door opened.

Draco inwardly swore. His concentration was so diverted when the mudblood was stealing his blood that he forgot to renew the enchantment on the damn door.

She bolted. Her heart pounded as she ran as fast as her legs could take her down the darkened hallway. The wispy strands of her disheveled brown hair were whipping at her face, but she didn't care. She just needed to get away from him. Her frazzled mind tried to retrace her steps. She momentarily thought about staying completely still and blending into the shadows, but she knew he would find her.

He was gaining on her.

She was getting tired.

Hermione knew he almost had her, with his long athletic strides easily catching up to her, when she saw the shinning outline of something up in front of her vision.

She narrowly avoided it by lightly jumping over it.

Draco was absolutely livid. How dare the little mudblood run from her punishment? Smiling at her foolish belief that she could outrun him, he pushed harder. He almost had her. He reached out to take hold of her shoulder when she jumped.

A crashing sound behind Hermione only fueled her resolve.

She didn't bother to look back as she reached the stairs that would lead her to freedom. She only stopped running when she reached her dorm room.

Paranoia gripped at her as she burst into her dorm gasping for air, and recklessly threw herself face first on one of the couches in the living room, forgetting about everything except for the wizard that was after her.

Luna Lovegood's dirty blonde head went up in alerted surprise, she regarded her roommate with wide blue eyes.

Oblivious of her companion's presence, Hermione carefully listened for the sound of pursuit, but heard nothing aside from the sound of her own ragged breathing. Then a minute later, an inquiring voice.

"Hermione?"

Hermione didn't answer.

Luna was shocked at her friend's abrupt arrival because she thought her timid friend was already sleeping in her room. Earlier, when she had knocked to see if she wanted to study together, she had received no reply and assumed she had fallen asleep.

"Hermione?" repeated Luna as she reached out to touch her friend's thin arm. Before she could make contact, Hermione spun around to face her.

Luna's breath caught in her throat as she took in her friend's appearance.

"I know, I know. I look terrible, but I fell asleep in the library, again," nervously lied the brunette. Instinctively her hand hand went to her hair. Luna raised a dubious eyebrow, but remained silent.

Hermione hoped her friend wouldn't interrogate her. She feared that she might break down and actually confide in her. If she did, Hermione feared Draco might harm her, too.

"What are you doing up so late?" inquired Hermione in an attempt to diffuse her friend's curiosity. She inwardly cringed at how forced her voice sounded, but luckily for her, Luna did not seem to notice.

Luna stifled a yawn, before her dark blue eyes glittered with fire as she glared down at the book in her hands. "Studying for tomorrow's bloody test. That teacher from Deadly and Rare Magical creatures in hell-bent on making us fail with the massive multitude of tests she constantly gives us. It's unnecessary! I never ever pay attention in that ghastly class, so now I have to review and study the damn creatures all over again," replied Luna in an tired voice.

Even though she'd been through hell and felt like passing out at the mention of the dreaded class, Hermione couldn't help but faintly smile at her friend's sleepy tirade. Luna looked like an innocent, sweet, and caring girl, but Hermione knew better. Luna spoke her mind, swore like a sailor when irritated, and was inclined towards tomboyish mannerisms, yet she favored the color pink and had a hidden love for fashion. In essence, she was a walking and breathing contradiction.

"Listen, I don't want to be rude, but why do you... look the way you do?" questioned Luna. She had never before seen her friend look so different.

The brunette felt her smile slide off her face. She didn't like the way the blonde looked at her then, a certain assessing gaze that made her feel far too exposed.

"I've already told you! I fell asleep," protested Hermione in a shrill voice. She didn't want Luna to know the truth. If anything happened to her dear friend, Hermione would never forgive herself.

"Relax, will you? I'm only curious. It's not every day that you wear makeup. No need to get sentimental," Luna countered.

Tentatively, Hermione lightly brushed her fingertips on her face.

"I'm not wearing any," said the petite girl.

Luna's eyebrows shot upwards. "Right. Then I suppose your hideous bruise simply vanished to leave you with velvet looking skin? Not to mention your hair. C'mon Hermione! At least tell me who he is. I can keep a secret," said the blonde with a mischievous wink.

"Are you mad? I wasn't out with a wizard. You know that I don't go on dates. Besides, I think I would know if I had put on some makeup. Leave my hair out of it. You know that I can't tame it," added Hermione in a slightly confused voice.

"Uh huh. I've never seen your hair look better. You know what? I give up. Clearly you're in denial and don't want to tell me about your date. Or maybe you hit your head a hell of a lot harder than we originally thought," said Luna in an impatient voice and shrugged her shoulders pretending not to care about Hermione's feelings. For so long Luna had hoped that her friend would overcome her shyness and finally gather the courage to go on a date with someone, but she wasn't counting on the fact that her roommate would withhold that information from her.

Hermione deeply frowned, got up, and then went to her room without saying a word.

"Yeah, Goodnight to you too," muttered Luna to herself as she leaned back on the couch. She felt guilty for hurting Hermione's feelings, but sometimes Hermione's lack of trust hurt her feelings more than anything. She shook her head and resumed reading about the min.

Hermione locked her door. She didn't even bother with washing her face that night. Exhaustion and a plethora of other emotions caught up with her when she collapsed into her bed. She dreamt of blood.

**. . .**

Draco Malfoy scowled at the inanimate object that had caused him to lose his balance and land hard on his back. Time went by as he simply lay there for a long moment in silence. He cursed his long legs as they finally untangled from whatever it was that had caused his thwarting fall. Of course he didn't immediately get up.

First he had to assess the damage done to his body. He heard the girl flee down the stairs, and let out an aggravated sigh.

Unlike most wizards, he didn't heal properly.

When he was a small child, any sort of small cut or scrape would produce vast amounts of blood. In addition, any sort of pressure would cause him to develop nasty bruises. He was incredibly sensitive to pain, but he never let it show. As he aged, his condition only worsened. Being the arrogant and stubborn boy he was, he never let his condition detain him from doing anything he wanted, despite his grandparents' pleas. He was an accomplished athlete, but he very rarely was physically injured mainly due to his natural grace and his cautious behavior. He couldn't even remember when he had last taken such a fall.

The corners of his lips lifted in a wicked smile as he came up with ways to make the tiny girl pay for causing his ungraceful incident.

The smile faded from his face as he suddenly realized that nothing hurt.

Draco leapt up, his heart pounding. Why wasn't he in pain? It was weird that he felt perfectly fine.

Looking down at his feet, he finally took notice of the object that caused his fall.

He leaned down to retrieve it.

His necklace. It made sense; after all, he had a strong tendency of getting what he wanted. He started making his way back to his private dorm room without a backwards glance, ignoring the fact that he still felt no pain.

An hour later and dressed for bed, Draco now stood in front of his bed, mentally estimating how much of his medicine he would have to ingest to acquire some sort of relief from the daily pain he felt.

Straightening his broad shoulders, he realized that the nocturnal pulsating his body was accustomed to feeling was still absent. His muscles were not twitching with discomfort and his back still felt fine.

His figure began swaying with fatigue before he could fully assess his body with his own eyes. Collapsing into bed, his pale eyes lazily looked over to the medicinal potion on his nightstand, reaching out with an unsteady hand, his vision began to viciously blur as his body grew heavier, and most annoyingly, useless.

For the remainder of the night, dreams of blood plagued his mind, until a loud voice pierced the deep layers of his sleep.

**. . .**

"Draco! You either open up or I swear you will die an excruciating death if you're not dead already," threatened a muffled voice.

"Really, Theo? That's your brilliant plan to get him out of his bedroom. How tactful," replied another deep voice.

"Well, Blaise, instead of taking the initiative, should I be coming up with possible murder scenes like you have been doing all bloody day?" asked Theo dryly.

"Fine, when we go in and you see his dead body that was clearly eviscerated by a serial killer don't come crying to me," said Blaise.

Heavy eyelids started fluttering at the constant racket. Draco groaned and turned over in his bed trying to drone out Theo's and Blaise's bickering with his silk pillow. It was useless; he knew they wouldn't leave until he got out of bed.

"I'm going," said the blond boy in a groggy voice. He got out of bed without bothering to put on a shirt and went to open his bedroom door to his friends.

"Ah, your majesty, I trust you slept well?" snickered Blaise.

"I did, my loyal peasant," replied Draco in a sleepy voice while yawning.

Theo burst out laughing, "Hey, Blaise, he doesn't seem to be missing any vital organs."

Blaise playfully glared at Theo and then focused his attention back to the tired blond.

The carefree air cleared as Blaise suddenly pulled Draco towards him.

"Although, his scars seem to be missing..." whispered Blaise in astonishment, as his eyes traveled over Draco's exposed upper body.

Theo also got closer to inspect the unblemished body.

"How?" questioned Theo in an unbelieving voice.

Draco ran to the nearest mirror and peered closely at his semi-naked body. His scars that he had developed due to his condition and fearless attitude were completely gone, but how? Only Theo and Blaise knew about his condition and scars, along with his grandparents. They also knew Draco never fully exposed his lean, muscled body for that very reason.

"It's just a spell I'm trying out. I just didn't think it'd actually work," lied Draco. He was nervous, but his face remained stoic as he kept looking at his reflection.

His friends nodded and laughed for thinking that Draco's permanently marred body could suddenly rid itself of its scars.

They never paused to think that such appearance altering spells didn't work inside the school.

In the mirror, Draco cast a quick glance at a bright orange cloud that hung in the sky. It oddly reminded him of the creature he'd killed last night. He turned around to look at the charmed open window.

Theo's hazel eyes followed Draco's grey gaze.

"Weird, huh?" he indicated towards the window. "Apparently when a min dies a cloud in the sky remains orange in color for three days," added Theo.

Blaise grimaced.

"Theo don't remind me of mins. You know, I could have gotten a perfect grade on today's test if it weren't for the min essay questions at the end. I'm glad someone killed it. I'd personally thank them if I knew them. I didn't like how its creepy eyes always followed me in class,"admitted Blaise.

"Besides could you imagine if it somehow transformed and two people had to seal it? I'd feel bad for them," added the Italian, with an exaggerated shudder.

Draco's eye hardened as he recalled last night's event. All traces of sleep gone from the silvery depths. He feigned ignorance, "Someone killed the min?" he questioned in a voice that was calm and collected, but obviously curious.

"Yeah, apparently mins are usually killed out of fear. That's why they're so rare. People fear the blood bonds that they can potentially create. The new instructor of Deadly and Rare Magical creatures thinks that's why her min was murdered. You're lucky you slept all day. Everyone kept talking about it in classes. It was very annoying," Blaise responded.

"How does she know it was her min and not a random one?" asked Draco.

"Well, that's the thing. Nobody can prove anything," answered Blaise.

"What do you mean?" retorted Draco.

His silvery gaze looked back and forth between the two Slytherins.

Theo chuckled and replied, " You really don't pay attention in that class do, you? The dead body of a min dissolves into mist within half an hour. The teachers don't have a body for evidence, but a min hasn't been spotted in this region of the world since the early 1500's. They're exceptionally rare. Anyway, I think I got a good grade-"

Before Theo could continue, Blaise cut in smoothly, "Yeah, yeah. Save it for the witches you deceive into believing you're brilliant, but since you think you did so well... What did you answer for the legend essay question? I just couldn't remember the legend about the blood bonds. It's not even in the book, how could she have expected us to remember by her repeating it to us only once?" asked Blaise in an angry voice.

Theo slightly shook his head. "Well, I left that one blank. I couldn't remember either," replied the hazel-eyed boy as he ran his fingers through his light brown hair. A gesture he only made when embarrassed or agitated.

Draco rolled his eyes and inwardly scowled at them for not being able to supply him with valuable information.

"Speaking of witches, I haven't seen the mudblood all day. I even asked Luna, but she wasn't very forthcoming," said Blaise.

Theo's hazel eyes snapped up to Blaise's blue gaze at the mention of the blonde girl's name. His eyes were flashing with irritation.

"You talked to that _her_?" hissed Theo. His expression was full of contempt and his eyes went hard with unpleasant memories.

"I did. I was merely curious. Don't worry Theo, by the way she glares at you, I'm sure she hates you, too. However, I need to find the mudblood because I have a bet to win," replied the Italian with a smile as he began to walk towards the door.

The blond started pacing. He needed answers about the blood bonds.

Theo smirked at Blaise's retreating form and said, "Blaise, I'm sure Skylar Montgomery would have a better chance at getting a go at the virginal mudblood than you."

Blaise stopped in his tracks and glanced back with a devious smirk on his face.

"Mate, are you jealous that he probably answered the blood bond legend essay question that you couldn't? After all, you're supposedly so 'knowledgeable' about legends," taunted the cheeky wizard. He then took off with those parting words, leaving behind an outraged Theo.

"Drake, I'm going to shower. I'll meet you at dinner?" asked Theo in a barely contained voice as he ran after Blaise.

Draco merely nodded his head; he was too immersed in his thoughts about a certain nerd named Skylar Montgomery.

After his two friends were finally gone, he went to shower.

**. . .**

A frail boy with severely crooked teeth, big bushy eyebrows, and oily red hair was happily walking towards the Great Hall. The merry bounce of his walk was due to his test grade. Not even the gloomy and poorly lit corridor could dampen his mood. He loved the new Deadly and Rare Magical creatures course that was integrated into their daily classes and it reflected in his grade.

Many wizards and the occasional witch mocked him for studying so hard, but he found it ironic that in the end they always tried to bribe him for answers or tutoring lessons.

Unfortunately for him, the wizard that was looking for him had no intention of bribing or paying him for lessons.

Draco's eyes gleamed when he saw the skinny boy finally walk past him.

"Montgomery," he addressed as he emerged from the shadows.

The redhead turned and audibly gulped as the sound of the velvety smooth voice.

"Malfoy," he replied in a terrified whisper.

The reputation of Draco Malfoy was very well known.

Skylar remained as still and quiet as ever.

"Would you please step into my office," ordered Draco as he gestured to a closet door.

"That's not an office, though," said Skylar with wide eyes

Draco clenched his jaw.

"Are you rejecting my kind offer?' asked Draco in a dangerous voice.

"No! Of course not," Skylar hastily denied as he made his way into the so called office.

Once both boys were comfortable in the spacious closet, Draco ordered the oily boy to tell him all he knew about blood bonds formed by mins.

**. . .**

Hermoine Granger woke up with a start. She looked around to see if Malfoy was somehow hiding in the shadows of her room. She leaned back into her pillows once she realized how paranoid she was being. Her stomach growled. She looked at the clock and decided to take a quick shower before she headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.

She reasoned in her head that Malfoy wouldn't attack her out in public. All she needed to do was to surround herself by people and avoid him.

As Hermione let the water run down her body, she couldn't help but notice that her body seemed a lot more soft. She shook her head in denial, maybe she had hit her head too hard.

Without bothering to check her face or clothing in the mirror, she walked out of her dorm.

Once Hermione sat down at the Hufflepuff table, she started to fret that maybe she had a smudge on her face or a hole in her clothes. A lot of wizards were staring at her.

She abruptly left the table and decided to return to her dorm room. The stares and whispers were making her extremely uncomfortable. Hermione never did see how a wizard stood up from his table and silently followed her.

Before Hermione made it back to her destination, she felt a pair of strong arms come around her from behind. It happened so fast that she didn't have time to react.

The stranger threw her over his broad shoulder and proceeded to quickly carry her down a spiral staircase.

She couldn't see much, and couldn't really scream because each jolt robbed her of air.

By the time he came to a halt, she was breathless. He opened a door with his wand, while still carrying the limp girl with one arm.

He kicked open another door with his foot. He forcibly threw her onto what she assumed to be a bed. It was hard to see with no light. As if somehow reading her mind, her aggressor turned on the light.

"Take off your clothes," he demanded


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark******

******A/N: Thank you very much for reading Blood. It means a lot. I really appreciate all the lovely reviews I've received so far. They truly make me smile. I hope you like this chapter because I quite enjoyed writing it. Review! And if you don't, it's okay because I'm still glad you took time out of your day to read my story!******

* * *

><p>Chapter three<p>

Hermione sank back. She pressed her shivering body as far back as she could into the soft pillows.

He merely waited, allowing the uncomfortable silence to stretch out between them. By now he had hoped to hear the soft rustling of her clothing falling away from her body.

The small girl paled as she saw how his hand curled into a tight a fist, and his eyes flashed with annoyance. "Now," he snarled, struggling to contain his fury with her.

Still, she simply lay there, petrified.

Draco bit out a curse, leaned in closer to his bed, and reached out his arm until his slender fingers aggressively latched onto her ankle.

The pain that shot up through her entire leg broke Hermione free of her fear induced trance.

She gasped in horror as Malfoy pulled her towards him and began tearing at her clothing.

He could feel how her petite body trembled underneath the angry ministrations of his rough hands.

She screamed and tried to push him off. He had her pinned under his strong body preventing her from escaping. She closed her eyes shut, letting hot tears stream down her cheeks. Her shrieks grew so loud and frantic, that he momentarily let go of her. She managed to scratch his neck as he subdued her again.

Draco didn't feel pain, but grew even angrier at her insolence. He struck her. The impact of the slap caused a trickle of liquid to expel from her mouth.

Somewhat dazed, she wiped at her mouth with her left hand and felt him slightly get up.

Draco's silvery blond brows drew in together to form a scowl. He was thoroughly disgusted at having to be the one to undress her. Damn mudbloods, they couldn't do anything right. He opened up his silk shirt, cast it aside, and refocused his attention back onto the near nude girl. Although her face was turned to the side, he still saw how tightly shut her eyes were. What he saw near her mouth, though, made him stiffen, but her exposed hips almost made him groan. Draco closed his eyes shut.

His heart began racing in dread, a small part of him prayed that he was only living in a nightmare, one that he so desperately wanted to awaken from.

For the first time since the attack on her person began, Hermione turned her head, her large teary brown eyes landing on the tense Slytherin that stood before her. Against her will, her eyes instantly lowered and quickly roamed down his body taking in his creamy alabaster skin, taut abs and a small trail of dark blond hair that disappeared into his trousers. He was well-built. Only years of sports could create such a body.

She blushed in earnest at his shirtless state. She'd never seen a boy exposed to that extent. Hermione was a shy girl and believed in the notion of love, just like Luna did. A loud sob tore from her throat as she concluded, from her barely concealed body, that after Draco was done with her, no wizard would ever come to love her. She pressed her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, averted her gaze, and began to once again back away from her aggressor.

A ragged sound brought Draco out of his musings. He opened his eyes, his silver gaze locked onto the crying girl huddled against the pillows on his bed.

It wasn't a dream. It was real. She was real.

"Turn around," he ordered in a sharp voice.

For the first time ever Hermione gathered the courage to insult Malfoy. There were tears in her voice as she called him a rapist.

The blond let out a cruel laugh, "At least look at me when you try to insult me," he mocked.

"No," she refused in a watery voice. Had Hermione not kept her gaze averted, she would have seen how infuriated her defiance made him.

"Then I'll make you," growled Draco.

Draco didn't even try to suppress his anger. How dare she call him a rapist, disobey him? She needed to learn her station. He visibly shuddered at the sickening notion of taking his pleasure with a filthy mudblood.

He moved towards the sobbing girl, caught a grip on her hair, and violently yanked.

She fell to the floor with a thud.

He smiled as he saw her forehead connect with the marble. Hopefully this time a concussion would occur. He placed his boot on her delicate back and pushed down.

Hermione started shuddering. There was a blinding pain in her scalp. She started sobbing uncontrollably as she recalled being in such a similar position not too long ago. He was pushing down with so much vigor, that she found it increasingly difficult to breathe.

The tall Slytherin bent down and lowered his head to murmur in her ear, "The mudblood finally learns her place."

He heard her small struggled gasps for air. He extracted his polished boot from her dainty back. If there had been any truth to the redhead's words, then killing her was not in his best interest.

Her lungs greedily took deep breaths of air. Draco closely inspected her frail back and let out a vulgar curse. Every single word that damn Montgomery boy had spoken to him was proving to be true so far. Deep down, he had hoped the redhead had actually lied to him. He would much rather deal with tracking down and disposing of a liar than to deal with this mess. Against his better judgment, he began tracing the faint markings. There was no denying it now. The blood bond was taking effect.

Hermione's spine stiffened as she felt Malfoy's cold finger dig into her back. She was perplexed as to why he kept running his fingers in a same weird pattern.

"I am so fucked," whispered the Draco in a soft voice.

The girl heard the odd comment above her, but wisely chose not to voice her confusion. She didn't want his erratic temper directed at her.

He straightened up, stalked across the room, plopped down in an extravagant upholstered chair and harshly told her to get up.

She tried and failed several times to get up.

He didn't help her, merely watched with an amused expression.

Hermione's vision swam as she tried to get up, to no avail, for a fifth time.

"Come here, filthy mudblood," he bit out.

At his harsh command, she put more effort into her attempts, stood up, but then fell down again as her wobbly knees buckled underneath her. Her lightheadedness prevented her from trying again. She felt so sick.

"I can't," admitted Hermione in a too quiet whisper.

"What was that?" asked Malfoy with a sneer.

"I-I can't stand up," she repeated in a slightly louder voice.

He smiled in a perverse manner.

"You can crawl," he provided.

"No, please..." she broke off and looked up to see her tormentor. He looked like a ruthless king sitting on his throne, but without a shirt. Against her better judgment, her brown eyes once again redirected to the dark blond hairs that began at his navel and disappeared into the confinement of his trousers. She furiously blushed and averted her gaze as he noticed.

Unable to control himself at her obvious innocence, he laughed. "Do you like what you see, mudblood? Do you want it?" he mocked, shifting his legs to give her a more revealing view of his groin.

The mudblood was inspecting all the wrong parts of his anatomy. He watched, laughing cruelly as her crumpled figure cowered from his unwavering gaze.

"If you don't start moving, I might be tempted to retrieve you myself," threatened the impetuous Slytherin.

Draco started to get up.

Hermione's heart started thumping so loud in her ears at his threat, that she was amazed he couldn't hear it. She summoned all of her remaining willpower, planted her hands on the marble floor and proceeded to blindly drag her body towards him. She ignored the icy cold feel of the floor against her bare midriff. She only stopped when she accidentally placed her hand on a leather boot. His boot, she realized in fear. She drew her hand quickly away, a tremble of trepidation coursing through her.

Draco intently observed the pathetic mudblood crawling towards him. He stood up in front of his upholstered chair and simply waited. He smirked as she lifted her face upward, opened her big brown eyes to meet his silver grey ones, in a silent request of forgiveness for unknowingly and blindly touching his leather boot.

Hermione's slightly blurry vision finally subsided as she focused on Malfoy's cold, unrelenting eyes. Her tired gaze then began to lower, despite her attempts at keeping eye contact.

Her eyes widened in horror when she noticed a familiar blue tinted liquid seeping from his wounded neck.

"Malfoy... there's something wrong with your blood," said the girl in a quivering voice.

Said wizard grimaced and replied, "Don't you mean our blood?"

"What?" she asked in a barely there whisper.

He nodded towards her tiny left hand.

Hermione brought her left hand to her face for closer examination and nearly fainted at the sight of the same blue tinted liquid smeared across it. She looked down at all the injuries that Malfoy had inflicted on her person. Every single scrape on her body was oozing that strange blue liquid, but what really stunned her were the bizarre faint markings on both sides of her hips.

"My hips..." began hermoine, but was interrupted by Draco.

"Don't you mean our hips?" hissed Malfoy, putting extreme emphasize on the 'our'.

The brunette looked at the blond's exposed narrow hips and gasped.

He had the same markings, in the exact same place.

**. . .**

Theodore Nott ran his fingers through his light brown hair as he went down yet another hallway. He was supposed to see the blond at dinner, yet when he made it to the Great Hall everyone in the Slytherin table had told him that he had left long before the food was brought out by the fairy cooks. Theo could have have sworn the Headmaster, Severus Snape, hired the fairies only to torture every single hot-blooded male in the school. He smirked as he recalled when Blaise found himself a bit... 'excited' at the sight of a particularly pretty fairy flying above him with a tray full of food during lunch. It didn't matter that the incident happened years ago, Draco and him would never let the arrogant Italian live it down.

His smile faded as his mind drifted to Draco once again. Even Blaise, the most unconcerned wizard known to Theo, seemed worried and had actually passed up the opportunity to go on clean up duty with the fairies, and instead volunteered to help him locate Draco.

As soon as they had finished wolfing down some food, Theo and Blaise had ventured out of the Great Hall to look for their blond friend. They knew something was wrong with him. Draco had never acted so out of character in their presence.

He may have thought he had them fooled, but they knew better. In order to save time, Blaise decided to search outside the school, while Theo searched inside. Theo couldn't find a trace of him. He even went back to check if he returned to his dorm room, at least three times, but he wasn't there.

On the restricted and deserted section of the school, a blonde witch pulled her wand closer to her, holding on so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and looked out toward the deserted hallway. She exhaled impatiently. Hermione wasn't in here either.

Luna was uncharacteristically on edge tonight, any small sound seemed to frighten her as she searched for her missing Hufflepuff roommate. Another bolt of lightning made her jump yet again. The world outside the school was drowning.

The girl paused in front of one of the large windows, admiring how the little streams of water decorated the crystal glass. The rain grew in intensity, the trees groaned in protest as the heavy beating of water tore down their wispy branches.

Far away in the distance she could see the outline of the bright orange cloud. The cloud made her feel so calm and serene. She had the sudden urge to go out in the rain to get a better view of the beautiful cloud, despite the raging thunderstorm. All of her attention was focused on the alluring cloud, that she never heard him coming.

Having now reached a new corridor, Theo pulled out his wand. Rigid, he slowly walked towards the unsuspecting short wizard that seemed to be rooted to a spot in front a large window that displayed the min's hypnotizing cloud.

"You know, I could've sworn the min's cloud only affected witches," said a snide voice behind Luna.

The figure swung around, her empty stare now centered on the light haired boy.

"Oh... it's _you_. No wonder I mistook you for a boy," spat Theo. He really hated the witch. She would always question his sexuality in front of other witches. He usually tried to ignore her, but she didn't let him. He really, really hated her.

The girl with dirty blonde hair remained unresponsive, her eyes glazed.

"What the are you doing here?" questioned Theo.

Luna was still a bit dazed from the trance she had currently been under, her dark blue eyes were wide. No answer.

"Well? Are you deaf or merely too stupid to comprehend?" repeated the tall wizard.

Luna finally blinked, "I only wish I were deaf. Not having to hear your shrilly voice would be a blessing," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously as she pointed her wand to his chest.

Theo was, dare he think it, relieved that Luna had finally gone back to her normal self. The haunting look that had been previously plastered on her face had been eerie.

"What are you doing here? Besides waiting for your lesbian lover," he mocked as he walked towards her with a very evident glare adorning his delicate features.

She glared back at him. "Ah, so that's why you're here," slyly replied Luna with a smile forming on her smug face.

Two perfectly sculpted light brown eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry are my words too complex for your underdeveloped brain?" taunted Luna.

Theo's face felt like flames were scorching it. He ran a hand through his hair and replied, "You're not making any sense."

"Look, you even blush prettily, just like a witch," she teased.

His hazel eyes narrowed in response. She only laughed humorlessly at his unspoken warning.

"In fact, I bet you were sorely disappointed about me not being a wizard you could have a sleepover with," explained Luna with a wink.

"Shut up," he growled. He was trying to reign in his rage, but it wasn't working. She was pushing his limits

"Hey, I call it like I see it. You don't have to hide how you _really _are with me," she said with an assuming smirk.

He had enough.

Theo reached out, grabbed her wand in a fluid motion, broke it, and flung the pieces down the dimly lit corridor. His gaze locked on her upheaving chest.

Luna's smirk faded as he stalked towards her. She swallowed and stepped back and hit the window, she had nothing to defend herself with.

He gave her a sardonic smile revealing perfect white teeth. "And what am I really like?" he angrily asked.

She remained completely silent, and then slapped him with all of her might. Her palm tingled. To her complete surprise he didn't move an inch, and only gave her a long look.

Then, without a warning, Theo quickly covered the space between them, and pressed her body against the window with such force that a crack was heard. She gasped at the painful connection, then looked up in alarm at the attractive Slytherin.

"I think you look boyish enough for my taste," he hissed, an unknown emotion glinting in his eyes.

His hand grabbed, in a bruising grip, the side of her small face and forcibly tilted it up until his firm lips crashed down on her trembling ones. It wasn't a tender kiss. He was showing her that he was the dominant one, despite his delicately chiseled features that led her to believe otherwise.

Luna groaned in discomfort. She never knew a kiss could be so excruciating. She could only dig her small fingers into his strong back.

She struggled against him, and stiffened as he forcibly nudged her legs apart with his knee.

The surprised girl gasped at the foreign sensation running amok through her body as he nestled in between her thighs.

Theo took advantage of her shock by plunging his tongue deep into her unsuspecting mouth.

She tried to bite down, but he merely pulled her hair back in a sharp warning.

He didn't stop until he thoroughly punished her mouth. Theo smirked when he lifted his head to see her swollen lips and glistening eyes.

"Let go of me!" she screeched, blindly reaching for the hand still entangled in her hair.

She pinched, scratched, and smacked at his his hand, but nothing seemed to work.

In her desperation she tried slapping him again, but he pulled on her hair with such additional force that she whimpered.

The hazel-eyed wizard suddenly seemed amused at her futile attempts, which only further aggravated Luna.

"Let go," she repeated in a shrilly voice.

"Not until you apologize," Theo stated.

"I won't," bit out Luna. She wasn't going to back down, even though her rising fear was making her regret her words. She had no idea he was this strong or _aggressive._

Disbelief shone in his eyes for brief moment before they narrowed. She was more feisty than he had thought.

"Apologize", he demanded, his voice growing cold. Theo's anger was slowly dissipating and being replaced with annoyance.

"No", countered the stubborn witch.

Theo was getting extremely tired of the girl. He really didn't want to spend more time in her unbearable presence, but she obviously had not learnt not to fuck with him.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way," explained the wizard in dark voice, glaring at her.

Luna swallowed hard as his glare intensified. He looked at her with such hatred.

She felt him shift his body, pressing deeper into hers.

Despite herself, she blushed.

His free hand settled on her waist and slid further down.

Luna's eyes now widened at his exploring touch.

He smiled at her horrified expression, but he thought it odd that for being such a vulgar and outspoken tomboy, the little blonde was acting like as if no wizard had ever touched her like this before. He knew she wasn't a lesbian, he merely called her one because she would always heavily insinuate that he was gay.

"Stop. Okay, I-I'm very sorry," blurted Luna, hoping to deter him.

Theo shrugged his shoulders at her in indifference as he continued with his exploration.

"No," he said, a mocking tone laced in his voice.

She continued apologizing, yet Theo remained completely unaffected by her words.

"You know, I've always wondered why you never wear skirts. Do you have something to hide? Maybe you're not much of a witch after all," he taunted, his fingertips brushing against the front of her trousers.

Luna inhaled sharply at the sexual implication of his words and actions.

Frantically searching for a way to escape, Luna studied her captor, his gaze was cold and indifferent. Her fear skyrocketed as she felt him undoing her trousers. She shook her head in denial, unable to bear the thought of him being the first to touch her in this way, taking this special moment away from her.

"I know, you wish I was a wizard," she forced the insult of of her bruised mouth, defiant, even as everything within her screamed to remain silent, to think of a better way to stop his onslaught.

His smile faded and his grip on her slackened. He couldn't believe that she still had the gall to insult him even in her current predicament.

She took the opportunity to strike him even harder this time, hoping that it would be enough to break his grip on her hair.

Theo's head snapped to the side from the impact.

The wizard growled, sounding more bestial than anything.

"You _fucking_ bitch," whispered Theo venomously, feeling the blood trickle down his wounded nose. Rage welled up in him, hot and ugly.

Luna looked up at him and nearly fainted at the look in his eyes. She had gone too far this time. She could see it in his eyes.

The witch swallowed against the panic gripping her and jerked away from him, fully intending to run away.

In a blur, his hand captured her neck, preventing her from escaping.

He viciously pushed her against the window.

Luna coughed as the wind was knocked out of her.

Her vision started blackening, her oxygen getting cut off, she struggled against the pain of his grip.

Luna started bucking to loosen his unbreakable hold.

Tears started streaming down her face.

Theo heard her wheezing and looked at her tear-stricken face. Should he stop before he actually hurt her? He mentally shook his head. Hell no. Of course she wasn't pure. He knew from experience that feisty witches like her were never pure. Besides, he just wanted to teach her a fucking lesson.

He let go of her neck, and saw as she took in greedy gulps of air. He was still holding her body firmly and was surprised to feel his body slowly start responding to hers. He smirked and thrust his hips.

The witch stiffened as she felt his hardness against her softness, her face flushing even more.

"Oh, so you want me to fuck you?" he ground out as he thrust again, taking notice of the blush staining her face.

"Stop," she pleaded, her fear now very evident.

The corner of Theo's lips lifted, he couldn't help it. The more she feared him, the harder he got.

Luna groaned in discomfort. The zipper of his trousers was painfully digging into her.

A crack was heard.

"The window!" she screamed in alarm.

He ignored her and continued with his assault. He was starting to get painfully aroused.

Theo yanked her hair back again until her head hit the glass, and began sucking at the tender, exposed skin of her neck.

He undid her trousers and brushed his fingers against her womanhood.

Her back arched and created another crack in the already splintered window.

She opened her mouth to scream, but he covered it with his hand.

"Relax, I'm not even inside you... yet," he whispered.

She bit down hard on his hand until he removed it.

"I'd rather die than let you do that," she hoarsely whispered. Her throat felt raw.

"You'd rather die than let me fuck you? Well, don't worry; I plan on breaking the wall behind you. The long fall will definitely kill you," he said as he found her velvet folds.

She begged him to stop even as he inserted a long finger deep inside her.

Theo's body tightened in anticipation. He hated that his body was responding to hers in such a way, but he couldn't help it. She was so tight, her muscles clenching his long finger. He felt her sensitive core already wet and hot. He slipped in another finger as she squirmed. She felt so _good._

Luna made a distressed sound as he pushed deeper still. It hurt. It really, really hurt.

"Put your legs around me or you'll fall. I'm the only thing you can hold onto," he said with a smirk.

She shook her head in denial, then felt as he shrugged his powerful shoulders.

"Then I guess this is goodbye," he said in a nonchalant voice.

He rocked his hips one last time. The glass completely shattered. Shards rained down on him.

She emitted a sharp piercing scream as she fell back.

He felt the rain and wind lick at his body and looked down at her slowly disappearing body.

**. . .**

On the other side of the school, Draco Malfoy sneered at Hermione.

"They're on our backs, too," he explained, disgust coating his words.

"But... what are they?" Hermione questioned as a nauseous feeling came over her.

He was about to explain when he saw her faint at his feet.

Great, that's just exactly what he needed right now.

Sighing in irritation, he stepped over the mudblood, and after uttering a couple cleansing spells he crawled under the covers. He was too tired to shower. He would take his nightly shower in the morning, instead.

Before he closed his eyes he cast a spell that bound Hermione in platinum chains to his upholstered chair. He didn't bother to cover her near naked sprawled body or reinforce his concealment charms in his dorm room.

Besides, who on earth would look for him on a Saturday? He knew for a fact that Blaise and Theo always left for the weekend. They were the only ones that both knew his password and would actually dare to go in his dorm room. He let his tired eyelids drift down.

Had he taken his shower, he would have seen the bright blue wand that was placed right next to his sink.

**. . .**

Blaise Zabini stopped his long stream of Italian curses as he heard an ear splitting scream. He ran, or more so hobbled towards the sound and turned the corner just in time to see a whirlwind of debris, rain, and glass. Someone was caught in it, but he couldn't see clear enough to determine their identity. He began walking back, when the booming voice of Theodore Nott stopped him in his tracks.

Theo's hazel eyes still peered down from the destroyed window, into the darkness that had swallowed the stubborn witch. He laughed as he still heard her faint muffled screams. Wiping away the blood on his face, he decided it had been long enough, he stepped back, and shouted a very complicated spell that literally brought the witch right back up in such a fashion, that it appeared as if someone had reversed time.

After gathering herself, Luna peered at his cruel face. "You're a monster," she said in a trembling voice, her eyes red and puffy.

He didn't deny the accusation.

She suddenly ran away from him, but he froze her with a spell. He walked right up to her, and did a slow circle around her still body.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't kill you now that I know what's between your legs," he said to the living statue with a leer. He kissed her unmoving lips, and with that, he left her.

Once the spell wore off, the blonde girl fell into a heap. After she made sure he was gone, she stood up ignoring the pain in between her legs, zipped up her trousers, and ran back all the way to her bedroom.

Theo had just finished stretching himself when he felt someone behind him.

"That was an interesting promise," said a weak voice.

The light brunet jumped at the feel of someone's dripping wet and cold hand on his shoulder. He whirled around. He nearly screamed at the creature that lurked in the shadows... and then began to chuckle at his friend's unfortunate appearance.

Blaise was soaked to the bone. He looked pale, had scratches and tears all over his clothes. In addition, he had dirt, leaves, and a couple of wispy broken branches stuck to his person. His teeth were chattering uncontrollably and he was missing a boot. He looked terrible, yet managed to smell even worse.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Theo in an amused voice.

Blaise's bloodshot eyes narrowed, before he could reply, Theo cast a few spells on him. Blaise almost looked decent now, except he was still missing a boot and his eyes looked exceedingly tired.

"Finally! I thought I was going to freeze to death!" yelled the haggard boy in a slightly stronger voice.

Theo simply gawked at him as if he were mad.

"Don't look at me like that," said Blaise with a dramatic snort.

Theo chuckled at his friend's childish behavior.

"What happened to you?" he asked, again.

"I got caught in the thunderstorm," explained Blaise.

Theo rolled his eyes, "Yes, I figured as much, but why didn't you use your wand?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, yeah about that. I forgot it in Draco's restroom," replied Blaise in a quick voice.

"Again? That's the third time this month," complained Theo as his eyes hardened.

"Yeah, I know," said Blaise in an exhausted voice.

Theo didn't like how tired his roommate sounded and looked.

His eyes softened as he realized Blaise was getting sick.

"Ah, I see. Let's go get it, then. You're going to need it when we leave in the early morning. Besides, I want to see if Draco turned up. He should be in by now."

"Let's hurry because I really need to shower. I think my own stench is making me dizzy," said Blaise.

Theo smiled at that, but then grew serious.

"Hey, Blaise about Luna..." began the hazel-eyed boy. Blaise interrupted him and said with a wicked grin, "I understand. You're physically attracted to lesbians that hate you, and I'm attracted to fairies that treat me like a bloody eunuch. Now that you know how it feels, you can no longer ridicule me for wanting something I can't have."

"Fine, but considering that fairies are genetically programmed to abstain from sex until they marry a male of their own kind, I would just like to point out that my fantasy is much more realistically achievable than yours," protested Theo with a smirk.

"Well, at least all sorts of fucked up things are admissible in our dreams," Blaise replied with a small shrug.

They then looked at each other and laughed as they walked down the staircase that led to Draco Malfoy's private dorm room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Thank you for the feedback!**

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><p>Chapter Four<p>

Hermione awoke, then wished she had remained unconscious. She groaned as she attempted to make herself more comfortable on the cold floor, and then cautiously opened her eyes expecting to see him glaring down on her from his throne-like chair.

He was gone.

She didn't know whether to be relieved or alarmed.

Her head felt heavy, and her body ached, almost as if every single bone and muscle in her body had been torn away from her, set on fire, and then repositioned to their rightful place.

She turned her head and saw an orange cloud swirling in the dreary sky outside the enchanted window. That was the same cloud she had briefly seen many witches gawking at when she was making her way towards the Great Hall earlier.

The sight of the bright cloud made her feel so calm and serene. It beckoned to her, full of tempting promises. As she struggled to stand in a daze, she finally took notice of the platinum chains encircling her ankles and wrists, but still mindlessly kept trying to make her way to the cloud. She pulled at the chains with force, uncaring of the pain that burst through her. They wouldn't budge.

Hermione's blank stare settled on the chains binding her to the upholstered chair. She frantically pulled like an enraged animal and redoubled her efforts. She needed to get closer to the beautiful cloud. Someone shifted in a bed that sat across the window, but she didn't notice. Her whole being was focused on the bright orange cloud.

The frenetic rattling of chains filled the luxurious and spacious confines of the bedroom, spilled out into the hallways, and most annoyingly into the ears of Draco Malfoy. He turned his head towards the irritating sound. In the middle of insulting the witch disrupting his peace, he stopped and searched into her unfocused brown eyes. They appeared glazed and lifeless. It almost seemed as if she couldn't see. Why was she trying to get to the window?

Two pairs of faint footsteps accompanied with muffled voices brought Draco out of his sleepy musings.

It took him a brief moment to realize that the sounds were approaching his bedroom. The same bedroom that happened to contain an almost naked mudblood chained to a chair. He easily distinguished the familiar voices. He quickly got up, threw his silk sheets aside, and forced himself to put aside thoughts of intense repulsion as he dissolved the platinum chains.

She hurriedly ran towards the window, but he quickly caught her arm, and wrapped it around on his own neck. He shook her out of her stupor, then picked her up in a fluid motion and shifted his gaze to the door, waiting for the right moment.

Hermione's eyes lost their hazy appearance as she started to take in her new surroundings. Her eyes widened in shock at finding herself wrapped around Malfoy. He was looking away from her. His hands were placed on her bottom.

She couldn't help the yelp of surprise that ripped from her throat at seeing how very close and pressed together their nearly naked bodies were. Her legs were straddling his lean, narrow hips. She could feel the warmth radiating from him. She shook her head in denial at the seemingly unrealistic position.

Turning, Draco let his gaze settle on the petite girl and how scared she looked with her big brown eyes searching for his in the dark. He grimaced at their near nudity and said, "Hold on." She didn't obey him, and instead tried to remove her arms and legs from him. He readjusted her with only his arms and replaced his hands on her bottom, while making his way to a corner. He carried her without strain or effort.

Hermione gasped as she felt her back touch the wall. Draco lowered her shivering body that was wrapped around him, so that it wouldn't it be silhouetted when they entered. He used the shadows cast by the cornering wall to blend her smaller shadow into his own larger one. She tried to look into his pale eyes pleadingly. "Please, don't do-" began Hermione.

"Shut up, mudblood. You'll play along and remain silent, understood?" he asked in a heated whisper. She looked at him with a confused gaze and simply nodded her head in submission.

Draco held her more tightly and slightly hesitated before searching out her lips in the dark with his middle finger; he barely grazed them, and then brought his lips down on hers. The kiss was exhilarating; he lost himself in pleasure as soon as they made contact.

He gripped her hair with his free hand, deliberately angling her face for better access. The sensations that coursed through him were inconceivable. Never before, even with the most experienced witches he had been with, had this sense of passion been present. He kissed her harder and deepened the kiss with his tongue, desperately trying to quench his newfound thirst for her.

Hermione emitted a soft cry of pain against his lips, but he ignored it and kissed her more passionately. His body began responding to her inexperience. She was so innocent, something he wasn't used to.

The rub of her delicate skin against his, the feel of her small chest pressed into his, the silky soft feel of her hair in his hand, all sent an overwhelming pang of desire throughout his body. She tried closing her legs when she felt his erection pressing into her core, but the act merely aroused him further. He adjusted her position, and his hands tightly gripped her bottom, holding her down in place. She was so naive, yet she was pushing him to the very edge.

He was close to losing control, when a bright light shattered the illusion.

**. . .**

Theo and Blaise had just gained entry into Draco's dorm room. It was darkened due to the lack of light, and windows. The only room that held windows in the blond's large dorm was his bedroom. They weren't necessarily real windows, but at least the enchantments provided some sort of illumination. The living room they were currently in was barely lit. No light was seen, other than that cast by the Draco's elaborate fireplace. However, the dying embers of the remaining fire, provided only the smallest of hints of soft light.

The light brunet was more than willing to go into Draco's room, and into his bathroom to retrieve the blue-eyed boy's wand, without the guide of a light, but he strongly suspected Blaise would not share his resolve.

Although it was never audibly confirmed within the trio, Draco and Theo were well aware of Blaise's fear of the dark, just as Draco and Blaise were aware of Theo's sensitivity when it came down to his delicate facial structure.

When Blaise and Theo were younger, boys that were much bigger than both of them had mercilessly terrorized them for their insecurities. Blaise was always ridiculed for using his wand to provide some sort of comfort in the permanently dimmed corridors of the school, and Theo was always mocked for looking effeminate. Once the two bullied victims became friends with Draco Malfoy, all the insults quickly ceased.

The Malfoy name itself was held in high regard by aristocrats worldwide, but Draco at a very young age had already established a frightening reputation of his own that demanded respect and fear. Not many wizards knew, but Draco did have a soft side to him, a soft side that was deeply embedded under his cruel, cold exterior.

Blaise could've sworn he heard chains rattling in their friend's bedroom, and decided to share this detail with his brunet friend that appeared to be oblivious or maybe deaf.

"Theo, did you hear that?" he inquired, trying very unsuccessfully to hide his rising fear.

Theo's head slightly turned from the bedroom door to look back at Blaise in the darkness.

"Hear what?" asked Theo with a bemused expression on his delicate features as he approached Draco's room. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings at all.

"I heard the sound of rattling chains... and whispers," said Blaise with a slightly panicked look.

"Oh, no, I didn't. The silencing darkness has yet to whisper to me," said Theo with a smirk in vain attempt to distract his friend from his rising panic that was very evident in his voice and blue eyes.

"Don't jest. I swear I heard something," insisted Blaise. He hated when Theo didn't take him seriously about serious matters.

Theo let out an exasperated sigh. "Blaise, just calm down. I'm sure it's the wind or something. Now let's get this over with," scolded Theo as he reached for Draco's bedroom door.

The paranoid wizard had his senses on high alert, and strained his ears when he heard yet another sound. He complained to Theo, again.

"Here, take my wand, and use it for lighting," replied an annoyed Theo as he abruptly thrust his wand into his companion's trembling hand.

They both reached for the door.

Blaise used Theo's now illuminated wand to look inside Draco's bedroom.

The sight that greeted the two Slytherins was one that they weren't expecting.

Draco's' smooth muscled back was to them, he appeared to be in a snogging session with a witch, but her identity was hidden by Draco's taller frame and other overcasting shadows. The only thing Theo and Blaise could see were two slender pale legs encircling his waist, tattered pieces of clothing everywhere, and sheets thrown carelessly on the marble floor.

"Oh. Sorry, Drake. We didn't know you were... uh busy. We'll wait outside," said Blaise hastily. Before Theo could make a crude comment, Blaise used a spell to abruptly shut the door.

Draco Malfoy groaned as reason returned to his senses. He quickly lifted his lips from Hermione's and whispered, "I'll be back. Don't move or say a word." Draco let go of her, removed himself from her thighs and walked into his bathroom.

Hermione merely shrank away from him when he eased himself from her, and sat on the floor. Her heart was racing as she grabbed a hold of what appeared to be a silk blanket and put it over her shivering shoulders. Draco Malfoy had just stolen her first kiss, and it seemed like he wanted more. She looked around for any sort of protection.

**. . .**

Theo looked at the closed bedroom door in front of him, and wondered what in the name of Merlin he had just seen. Blaise, on the other hand, was laughing.

"Can you believe it? This whole time he was enjoying himself while I almost died and you nearly fell out of a window searching for him," chuckled Blaise.

Theo would have laughed with him, but his mind was preoccupied with what he had seen on Draco's back. Blaise looked at Theo's pensive face and tentatively nudged him. "Did you hear me, Theo?" he asked.

"Did you see Draco's back?" asked Theo in return.

"Uh, yeah. What of it?" questioned Blaise in a perplexed voice.

"Well, what did you see?" pressed the impatient boy.

"Hmm, let's see... Oh, yeah! A back. What the hell else was I supposed to see? A foot?" retorted the blue-eyed boy with a small laugh.

Theo simply shook his head and drowned out the other Slytherin's comments, until Blaise threw a pillow at his head.

"You weren't even paying proper attention. You really are deaf," complained Blaise.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not blind," retorted Theo as he still thought of the strange marking he had seen on Draco's back.

**. . .**

Draco entered his bathroom and immediately splashed water onto his face. He frantically brushed his teeth, too.

He had just kissed a filthy mudblood. Initially, he had done it to conceal her identity because it was the only way his friends wouldn't see her, but it had gotten so out of hand that he had almost gotten mad when his friends intervened and stopped him from getting some sort of release. He gagged, simply thinking about her body being taken by him made bile rise in his throat.

The uncomfortable tight feel of his pants angered him. How dare the mudblood seduce him? He was thoroughly disgusted with himself that he took a shower and scrubbed his fair skin raw in vain attempt to remove the lingering warmth of her skin on his. He kissed her, and he enjoyed it.

Worst of all, he wanted to do it again.

He had probably enjoyed it because he was still sleepy from being woken up so brusquely, he reasoned. A nagging voice kept telling him otherwise; however, he ignored the voice of reason and convinced himself that it was a mistake that he'd never make again.

Draco finally finished showering, and was about to brush his teeth yet again when he saw a wand. Not just any wand, Blaise's trademark blue wand. He picked it up and exited the bathroom and went to his bedroom wearing only pants that displayed the low marking on his hips.

He glanced around, now able to clearly see everything with the rays of the early sun uncovering everything in the darkness and replacing it with a pastel orange hue. He stretched his body and tried to locate his favorite silk shirt. He finally found it. It was draped around the filthy mudblood's thin shoulders. She was sleeping and using his shirt as a blanket. He stalked his way towards her, his face contorted in disgust.

**. . .**

Theo was almost falling asleep. Draco was taking an eternity. Blaise had fallen asleep on the couch with the wand that was still lit clutched in his dangling hand. The darkness of the living room and lack of enchanted windows made it hard to decipher the time, but the impatient wizard imagined it was dawn.

He went over to his slumbering companion to retrieve his wand, and was reaching out towards it when he saw blood on two of his fingers. Dried blood. He thought it was weird because the shards of the window had not cut him. He stayed there, shocked, with his extended hand over the light of his wand when it finally dawned on him.

**. . .**

Hermione pretended to be asleep, she was waiting for him. The shining beam emitting from the opening bathroom door gave her time to make last minute preparations. She steeled herself when she heard irate footsteps approaching in her direction.

Her heartbeat increased as her body tensed when she felt his hands on her thin shoulders, rough hands, painfully gripping her delicate flesh. It was now or never. In one quick, yet extremely clumsy movement, she slid her hand out of the black silk shirt and withdrew the dagger she had found on the marble floor near his boots.

She tried to stab him, but he was faster.

Much faster.

He ripped it out of her grasp. She stumbled back, crossing her arms around over her exposed body.

"Just let me go. I never did anything wrong to you," she pleaded in a small whisper. Tears were in her voice. She turned her face away, not wanting him to see her emotions so openly displayed in her big brown eyes.

"Mudblood," he addressed as he reached for her, long powerful fingers painfully closing around her forearm and pulling her towards his imposing figure. She could smell his minty breath on her face. "You kill me and you kill yourself. We need each other. Got that?" he asked with a sneer. She remained silent and simply blinked in shock.

He slowly drew up the dagger in front of her face and made a thin blue line across her pale cheek and said, "Try to harm me again, and I won't kill you, but I'll make your life a living hell."

She gulped, battling to keep her tears from springing forth.

"Why won't you let me go?" she whimpered as he pressed the sharp dagger near her neck.

He looked at her with his silvery eyes and what she saw in them made her shiver.

He didn't bother to answer her, but instead cast the same magical platinum chains on her and walked away. She tried to scream to him, but there was no sound.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: Thank you to all my lovely readers, and reviewers. Your kind words really do motivate me. I'm so glad you take the time to give me some feedback. Even if you don't review, thank you. You're all awesome! Truly, you are. I hope you like this chapter! Please review! I'd love to read your opinion. [Lilly, your quirky comments are quite humorous, haha.]**

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><p>Chapter Five<p>

Draco stood in front of his vast closet and quickly acquired a new silk shirt that hadn't been tainted by the mudblood. As he lifted his hand and looked at his dagger he became immersed by conflicting emotions. He was torn between fury and slight amusement. Did she really think she could harm him with his own weapon? He chuckled darkly, carelessly threw his dagger inside the closet, picked up Blaise's blue wand from his bed, and exited the room.

Theo was waiting in the living room with a sleeping Blaise when Draco finally emerged from his bedroom. He had intended to watch his friend's reaction with the light protruding from his wand, and give him a well-deserved berating and interrogate him about his back, but the recent epiphany he just experienced had swept all his initial thoughts aside.

He had never once been bothered by his actions before, yet there he stood, with his hand frozen in place, staring at the dried blood with a look of disbelief. He was bothered now, but he wasn't too certain if he wanted to figure out exactly why he felt such a way.

Instead, he quickly snatched his wand from the sleeping figure, extinguished the light, uttered a cleansing spell, and turned away to look into Draco's general direction. He couldn't quite make out the blond's facial expression across the darkened room, but he could somehow sense that he was in a foul mood.

"Sorry for-" began Theo as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Don't apologize to me if you haven't done anything wrong," interrupted Draco in a cold voice.

Draco hated when people apologized to him. It meant weakness. He couldn't exactly make out Theo's face in the darkness but the slight paranoia that tinged the nervous boy's voice only amplified his annoyance. His friends should know better than to unnecessarily apologize for nonexistent wrongdoings.

Theo gulped and nervously fingered his wand. Draco was definitely in a bad mood.

"Um, Blaise forgot his wand in your bathroom again, and we just came to retrieve it. I honestly didn't think you'd be here," explained Theo in a timorous voice.

"Of course not. What could possibly make you think I would be in my own bedroom at such an hour?" asked Draco in a sarcastic voice from across the room. He was still angry from his disturbing encounter with the witch. An encounter that would have never taken place if it weren't for his impatient friends. It was their fault it had transpired. He had no regard for his friend's feelings at the moment. He only wanted someone or something to take out his anger on. Unfortunately for Theo, he was that closest someone.

Theo glanced in his direction. He nodded absentmindedly, feeling the dart of annoyance radiating from the blond's shadow concealed form. He knew from personal experience that it was never wise to press Draco when he already appeared to be aggravated.

"It won't happen again," said Theo in an anxious voice.

Draco simply stood there, making no comment.

"Well, I decided we're not leaving for the weekend, so I'll tell Blaise to come back, and to get it later in the day," he hastily added, looking away from the bedroom door where Draco silently stood.

Draco again didn't respond.

Silence permeated the air between them.

Theo then turned his back and started to walk towards Blaise's form on the couch, intent on rousing him from his slumber.

Stealthy movements in the room made Theo once again return his gaze to the bedroom door. He tried squinting in the darkness searching for the Draco's hidden eyes as he now seemed to be approaching him.

"I want you both out of here, and don't bother to show up unannounced again," Draco said, now standing over him.

Barely breathing, Theo nodded and felt Draco give him a wand. Blaise's wand.

"Thanks," murmured Theo grabbing the wand. The menacing aura surrounding Draco made every cautionary instinct within him scream. There was something very off about Draco, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Without another word Draco stepped back, turned around, and began retreating to his bedroom.

He took a deep breath, and then proceeded to wake up his companion. It took him a while, but he eventually got a reaction out of Blaise.

"Can't I just sleep here?" asked Blaise in a sleepy whisper as he tried snuggling into the couch again.

"You could, but I won't be held accountable once your corpse is retrieved from this room," he replied in a quick whisper. He really didn't want to disturb Draco again.

Blaise wasn't conscious enough to thoroughly process the warning, and instead stood up on clumsy feet.

"Let's go," said Theo as he put his arm around his friend's shoulder to steady him. Blaise heavily leaned into him and merely nodded. It was now clear that Blaise was definitely sick. They made their way back to their dorm in record time, with only one small detour made by Theo.

Blaise quickly went back to sleep on his bed once they reached their dorm room, but Theo went to sit on one of their couches in their living room. He was looking at his hand again, but this time he was staring at shattered pieces of a destroyed wand.

**. . .**

Hermione was facing the wall, slumped on the floor, with her head hung low when she heard a familiar voice speak behind her.

"Do you think you can remain silent and obedient if I set you free?" asked Draco. She nodded, but didn't turn to look at him.

"Good, I never could stand the wailing of witches," said Draco as he dissolved the chains and lifted the silencing curse.

Hermione briefly closed her eyes, and raised a trembling hand to smooth out and push away some strands of her wavy golden-brown hair that had stuck to her face because of her tears.

"Now turn around and look at me," commanded the blond boy. She hesitantly turned around, hiding her nearly naked body with her thin arms, and lifted her gaze to his silver one. His piercing eyes made her shudder.

He grabbed her by her upper arms and made her stand up, unintentionally making her expose her petite body to him. She tried to jerk free, but he merely tightened his grip.

"Don't you dare touch me again!" she screamed at him.

"Touch you?" he asked in a sharp voice.

"Do you honestly think _I_ would want to touch _you_, mudblood?" he added, repulsed.

"Yes..." she quickly whispered while turning her head away.

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him as she backed away until her back hit the wall. He put an arm above her head and looked down at her. Her eyes were wide. He stared at her for a moment longer before she whispered something again. She was so vulnerable. He was so lost in her big, alluring eyes that he completely missed her words.

He leaned in closer to her face. "What was that, mudblood?" he questioned in a husky voice.

A blush stained her cheeks due to his proximity. "I said I never did anything to you. I don't deserve this," she repeated.

He let out a malicious laugh. "If you hadn't stolen that bloody min, we wouldn't be in this mess. It's your fault this blood bond was created. Because of you I have no choice but to keep you alive. I need you." Draco replied, his words tinged with extreme bitterness.

"A blood bond? How?" she asked in a shaken voice. Her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears. She had no idea what he was talking about, but it didn't sound good. Hermione did not want a single thing to do with the cruel wizard, much less share a bond with him.

"Yes, a blood bond. When we gave our blood to the min we created a blood bond between us. That's why I brought you here, not to defile you. Haven't you noticed anything different about yourself?" he asked sarcastically.

"No..." she said in an unconvincing voice. She tried covering her body in a self-conscious manner, but he halted her movements.

His gaze, against his will, lowered to her exposed body. Her creamy chest, bright pink cheeks, and the rest of her pale perfect skin caused his trousers to begin to tighten.

"Liar," he accused.

His low husky voice made her belly clench. She looked up into his silvery grey eyes. Draco gazed into her teary brown eyes. Something in his expression made her heart race and her face burn again. Her mouth suddenly became dry as he began pressing his body into hers.

"Stop, please," she whispered. Tears now started trickling down her cheeks. The Slytherin in front of her was her captor, he wasn't someone she loved or wanted. Hermione was helpless against him. She couldn't breathe. She pushed at his chest with her small hands.

The feel of her velvet soft hands on his chest made him unexpectedly groan in pleasure. Her touch was electrifying. He lowered his head slowly inch by inch to her trembling lips. He simply had to taste her again. He couldn't help himself. He wasn't in control.

Hermione had flashbacks of what he had almost done before he was interrupted earlier, and in a panicked frenzy she slapped him across the face.

Hazily, as if far away, Draco felt a slight sting on his face, and then, very slowly, his senses returned to him. He growled and his eyes narrowed as it finally dawned on him that she had struck him.

She gasped in fear as he returned the slap full force. He hit her hard. The pain that shot through her cheek and jaw was momentarily unbearable.

"Don't you ever touch me, mudblood," he threatened. He finally stepped away from her as she crumbled to the floor holding her hand over the red cheek.

He began talking to her as if nothing had happened.

"Well then, let's get this over with. Do you know what a blood bond created by a min does?" he questioned in an exasperated voice. She didn't reply. He took a threatening step forward and then another until she answered.

"I...I don't," she replied in a watery voice. She didn't want him to hurt her again.

"Because of this bond, in time you'll supposedly be more aesthetically appealing to others, even though I'm sure you'll still be highly unattractive. We'll both heal quicker when we're physically close, and only I will be stronger and faster. The markings on our bodies will indicate when our bond has fully taken affect. My life is tied to yours. If I die, you die. If you die, I die." he explained.

"Why do you need me, then?" she asked in a horrified voice. Her face had visibly drained of color.

He laughed at her fearful expression. "I only need you to stay alive, but the more I do touch you, the more my newfound abilities will increase. The less I touch you, the more they decrease. I need you stay alive for my benefit," he said.

She looked down at her markings and noticed they were no longer faint. They were complete. It was done. She was bound to him. He was bound to her.

He followed her gaze and darkly chuckled. "Don't worry, Mudblood. I'd rather sacrifice these so called 'abilities' that I don't require than to be forced to endure your disgusting touch. All I need you to do is stay alive, understood?" he asked with a snicker.

"Yes," she softly answered.

"You will not tell anyone about this, either. If you do, I will make you regret it every day of your miserable life," he threatened.

"I won't tell," she said.

"Excellent, now you may go to your room. You are dismissed," he replied.

Hermione finally got up from the cold marble floor and hugged herself as she made her way outside of his bedroom, and was almost out of the dimly lit living room when she felt a rough hand on her shoulder.

"Remember, don't tell a soul," he whispered in her ear.

She didn't say anything and merely allowed him to guide her out of the living room.

Draco pushed her with force out of his private dorm room and then returned to his room to sit on his upholstered chair. Inappropriate images flooded to him as he recalled her semi nude petite body pressed against him, so open and ready.

He shuddered with disgust at his disturbing thoughts. He hadn't told her everything about the bond, but in his opinion she didn't deserve to know. Maybe he should have at least told her about how the bond blood created tremendous sexual attraction, well for the male at least, but he thought too highly of himself to succumb to the charms of a filthy mudblood. Besides, he didn't find her attractive at all, he reasoned. Ironically, the more he tried to convince himself, the more his mind began wandering to the mudblood.

**. . .**

Hermione fell hard onto the hallway on her hands and knees when Draco finally threw her out of his lavish dorm room. Her knees were ablaze with pain, but she ignored it. She got up and tried her best to conceal her shivering body. The small girl wanted to run as fast as she could back to the safety of her bed, but that meant possibly bringing unwanted attention to her near naked body. Instead, she carefully hurried along the hallway, casting anxious glances here and there.

When she arrived to her dorm room, she quickly took a shower and took a sleeping potion to help her finally acquire some severely needed rest.

**. . .**

Later that day, Draco left his elegant dorm room very late, and then went to sit on a comfortable couch in the Slytherin common room. He was lost in his thoughts when he turned his head to casually look over his shoulder, seeing a multitude of Slytherin witches huddled together, whispering.

He knew something was amiss. He couldn't make out their fierce whispers, but if facial expressions were anything to go by... something terrible had happened. They kept glancing in his direction. He noticed that one of them began approaching him.

"Hey, I'm sorry for your loss," said the random witch as she finally stood before him.

Perplexed and caught off guard Draco merely asked, "What?"

"Pansy Parkinson. She jumped from a window last night and plummeted to her death," explained the girl in a saddened voice.

Now Draco didn't know Pansy very well because he never cared to pay attention to her, and quite frankly her death didn't bother him in the least. However, he did know she wouldn't willingly throw herself from a window.

She was far too narcissistic for that. He also knew that he had personally seen another girl attempt to mindlessly throw herself out of a window not too long ago as well. The only thing that could explain the correlation between the two witches was the min's cloud.

He quickly got up and made his way to the Hufflepuff dorm rooms. He had to make sure she was safe, not because he cared about her on any sort of personal level, but because his life depended on it.

**. . .**

Hermione awakened with a start, not really knowing whether if what she had been put through for the last couple of hours of her life was a ghoulish nightmare or actual reality.

For the first time since the incident with the min, she went to look into the mirror. The reflection that looked back at her bewildered her. She didn't want to think about everything she endured so far and simply pretended she hadn't witnessed her new body, soft manageable hair, and more refined face.

She dressed in loose fitting clothes, and went to see if Luna was still in her room. She hoped Luna might possibly know more about mins and blood bonds since she had recently restudied them.

As she went to other side of the dorm, Hermione was mildly surprised when she saw a note on Luna's bedroom door stating that she was leaving for the weekend. She thought it was a bit strange since Luna always stayed with her, but didn't think much of it. Maybe the library could possibly have some information about blood bonds created by mins. There was only one way to find out, and with that thought she went outside into the hallway.

As she walked towards the library she missed the leers that were sent her way by wizards and the jealous glares that many witches directed at her.

Draco kept carefully following at a distance and he, on the other hand, had not missed any of the desire-filled looks that were thrown her way. He couldn't understand why, but seeing other males look at her in such an open manner made his blood boil.

How could she be so oblivious?

When he saw her get a book from a shelf and sit down in a table in the library he visibly relaxed and was about to turn away, until he saw a lone wizard approach her. He saw red.

Hermione was about to open up the book she had chosen to read when she felt someone loudly sit across from her. She ignored the other person until they cleared their throat. The small girl finally lifted her gaze and saw that a wizard was staring at her.

"Your name is Hermione, right?" questioned the boy sitting across from her. He had black wavy hair, slightly tanned skin, and light brown eyes that seemed to glitter. Overall, he was quite handsome.

"Yes," confirmed Hermione in a timid voice.

The boy smiled.

"Well, I'm Tyler. We have Deadly and Rare Magical creatures together. It's nice to properly meet you," said Tyler in a silky voice. He extended his hand toward her.

She reached out to shake his hand when a chilling voice behind her made her spine stiffen.

"She's mine," said Draco in an angry voice.

Tyler looked stunned, and quickly retracted his hand. He knew Draco Malfoy was an extremely prejudiced wizard, but he also knew he was an extremely dangerous one, too.

Draco smirked and said, "Well, at least in bed she is." He purposely said it loud enough so that the other wizards within hearing range also heard the bold insult.

By the look on Tyler's face he believed the lie because he cast a defeated glance at Hermione, got up, and wordlessly walked away.

Hermione quietly watched the interaction and finally spoke. She could feel all the eyes of the wizards and witches in the library on her.

"After everything you've done… You're going to make others think I'm your whore," she desolately whispered, her eyes trying to avoid his.

Draco caught her gaze, and gently cupped her cheek, looking into her glistening orbs.

"No, you could never be a whore," he said with a tender voice and softening eyes.

She blinked up at him in confusion.

"A whore at least has some value, and you have none," he said in a harsh voice as his glacial eyes hardened.

She gasped and pulled away from his touch.

"You really are pathethic, mudblood," he sneered.

He looked into her shocked big brown eyes and let out a cruel laugh. To Hermione's horror other people joined in the laughter until the librarian told them to keep it down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: ****Thank you everyone for reading my story! My readers are simply amazing. For those of you who do review, thank you so much! I am very grateful for the support and encouragement. Please review! Reviews are enormously appreciated. **

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

Draco Malfoy walked out of the library without a backwards glance. He didn't care to see the outcome of the mudblood's humiliation. She deserved it. His grey stormy eyes darkened as he thought that she probably enjoyed the blood bond they shared. In fact, he bet without doubt that she liked feeling like his equal, even though she was worthless.

He wasn't bothered by her degradation. He was only bothered by the chaotic emotions that were stirred within him by the small girl. He had never once felt jealous over a witch, yet there he was fuming over the idea that another wizard had tried touching the mudblood.

His mudblood. He hated her, but at the same time he really wanted her. He wanted to feel her slender body under him, and brand her all over.

He visibly flinched. If it weren't for the blood bond he wouldn't be thinking such inappropriate thoughts about her.

Draco shook his head in revulsion and began thinking about Pansy Parkinson, the devoted and obsessive witch that never gave up on him. Her death didn't necessarily bother him, but the circumstances of her death surely did.

His silvery blond brows furrowed in deep concentration as he once again began to think about the min's cloud. Skylar Montgomery had told him that the cloud attracted females, but was its pull strong enough to cause a witch to fall to her death? He truly didn't like the idea of a certain witch he knew falling to her death. As he glanced at the window in the hallway, he looked over at the orange cloud swirling in the dreary sky, and finally made up his mind to find an answer to his burning question.

**. . .**

Hermione quickly ran out of the library uncaring of the fact that some of the students were still laughing at her, regardless of the scolding that the old and withered librarian was directing at them.

The distraught witch wiped at her tears as she retreated to her room.

She didn't bother to lock any of the doors or place any incantations as she uncaringly threw herself on her small bed. The feel of the soft cool mattress of her bed slightly eased her embarrassment and blushing face. She wished Luna was in the school to console her, or at least someone she held close to her heart.

Harry and Ron were once close to her. They were like her brothers at one point. They were always by her side until recently.

She sighed.

Thinking of the friends she had lost for ambiguous reasons merely depressed her even more. The small girl finally got up from her unkempt bed, and closed the curtains of the window that was placed next to her bed and decided to take a nap to drown out her humiliation and loneliness.

**. . .**

"What do you mean it influences witches affected by the blood bond more?" asked Draco Malfoy in an outraged voice. Draco had sought out the redhead once more, and the answers the nerd was producing to the questions he was asking were exasperating him

Skylar Montgomery nodded, and once again explained that the min's cloud had a more powerful pull on witches that had forged blood bonds.

"Why?" asked Draco, his voice clipped.

"I don't really know the reason, but witches that have formed a blood bond are simply more sensitive to it. Especially if the witch made the blood bond with a strong male," explained the nerd in a scared voice.

Draco stiffened at the reply.

He was a Malfoy. There was no doubt that he was a strong and powerful wizard by birth. The years had only increased his powers.

"Well, what about the death of Pansy Parkinson. Do you think she died because of the cloud?" he asked, fearing he already knew the answer to that.

"I'm not sure. I guess it's possible," replied the oily redhead in a shaky voice. Draco snorted and left the redhead's room without another word. Now he knew for certain that he had to keep an eye on the mudblood. He started making his way to Hufflepuff dorms for the second time that day.

He noted that night had already fallen on the school and the min's bright cloud harshly contrasted with the darkened sky. He quickened his long strides as fear grasped its icy fingers around his heart.

**. . .**

Hermione stretched out like a languid cat in her bed as she yawned and finally woke up. Her dreams were quite disturbing, but she pushed them to the back of her mind. She gently rubbed her dry eyes, got up, and went to her closet to change her clothes. She figured she wasn't going to leave her room for the rest of the evening so she put on her comfortable white nightgown that Luna had given her as a birthday present last year.

Her room felt a bit too warm for her comfort. She went to the window and pulled the curtains away.

As she was opening the window a bright orange cloud caught her eye. The same cloud that haunted her dreams today. She couldn't look away. Her body started moving on its own and her vision began to swim. It felt like being in a dream. Her sanity was slipping as she determinately decided to go towards the hanging cloud. She reached her arm out to touch the cloud.

"Stop!" Draco caught her arm, preventing her from plummeting into the inky black depths. He swung her around to face him, trying with great difficulty to remain calm.

He could feel his own heart racing in panic as he bent down his head to look down into her face. Her eyes were glazed and had a faraway look to them. She had almost jumped. He was both glad and mad that she had left all her doors unguarded.

If he hadn't gone after her, she would've died and he would have died, too. He shuddered at the thought. Draco didn't pull away when her thin arms wrapped themselves around him.

Her pleasing touch was something he craved. He merely held her as her head gently laid to rest on his chest. The shock he had received from almost dying from an indirect source made his mind spin. He hated her as he hated all descendants of tainted blood, yet he couldn't deny that he wanted her.

Needed her.

If only she wasn't a mudblood, he wouldn't think twice about taking her. They stayed in a shared embrace until she began to hastily withdraw from his strong hold.

"Don't," he said, holding her even tighter.

Hermione's paralyzed body finally regained its mobility. Her hazy mind cleared as she realized who the wizard that saved her was. She was so grateful that she had blindly latched herself onto what seemed like the only shred of sanity. Her savior and ironically... Her tormentor. His silvery blond hair, tall powerful stature, and baritone voice that rumbled from his chest gave him away.

She tried to push away from his embrace, her mind was screaming at her to put as much distance between them as possible. She closed her eyes shut as his painful grasp further increased and inadvertently ceased her frantic movements.

"Let me hold you," he pleaded.

She gasped at his tender words. He slightly pulled back to kindly look down into her face once again. "Let me pretend for one moment that you're not a filthy mudblood," he whispered in a caring voice.

Hermione felt tears stinging her eyes, clogging her throat as she opened her warm brown eyes to search into his cold grey eyes. She was scared of his new behavior. One minute he hated her, and the next he was almost being nice. She was used to his ruthless, cruel, and cold treatment of her, but this almost nice version of Draco terrified her. She wasn't familiar with this side of him and didn't know what to expect.

His hand gently cupped her cheek. The gesture he mirrored from hours ago was different this time, it was almost sweet. His icy grey eyes were softening as he stared at her. Branding her. She was speechless and the silence between them grew until she took a deep breath and broke it with a question.

"Why? Why pretend to ignore something you always insult me with?" she asked in a quivering voice.

His hold momentarily loosened as he pondered her unexpected bold inquiry. She retreated from his embrace, and his hand limply fell to his side. Once she fully pulled away from his touch, he let out a curse. He tried to reach out to her with his long fingers, yet she successfully evaded his grasp. She backed away until the back of her legs hit the edge of the bed.

"Because I want you," he confessed, taking a step towards her.

She swallowed.

The intense look in his now molten mercury eyes was searing her.

"You want a mudblood?" she questioned. At her words he visibly cringed. He didn't want to acknowledge what she was at the moment, and her words were only serving as an unsavory reminder.

"Shut up," he warned, taking another long stride in her direction. Her eyes flew to his as she noticed all warmth had vanished from them, and they had once again hardened.

He smirked as he saw wariness creep into her expressive eyes. He had tried playing nice, but he'd alter his strategy if necessary to finally quench his thirst for her. He used a nonverbal spell to create a strong silencing barrier around her room, and to close her bedroom door and window without ceasing his steps.

Her eyes widened in both surprise, and fear as she noticed what he did to her room.

"You don't want to... to touch me. I'm a mudblood," she hastily said, trying to convince him to stop his advances. He froze and his smirk faded, she let out a sigh of relief, until he took yet another step. He could feel the inviting heat radiating from her as he now stood in front of her. He bent his head down towards her delicate neck to breathe in her tantalizing scent.

"I told you to shut up," he threatened in a velvet whisper as he traced the curve of her neck with his middle finger.

"You're a pure-blood. You hate mudbloods," she whimpered, painfully aware of their intimate proximity.

Hermione looked down as his hand once again fell away from her. His long, slender fingers curled into a harsh fist. His knuckles soon turned white.

He really hated her constant reminders of her impure lineage.

With each word she muttered, he felt his control slipping away. "You're right. I am a pure-blood," he confirmed, his eyes darkening with desire as they settled on her tawny eyes.

"Draco-" she began, but he stopped her words as he quickly kissed her. She had meant to break him out of his odd trance with using his first name, but by the look of it she had only made her predicament worse.

The way she said his given name made him melt. The damn blood bond was taking over. He was trying very hard to regain control, yet her intoxicating presence made it nearly impossible for him to resist her and then the way his name sounded on her lips had finally made him snap.

Excitement coursed through him as their lips met. Her lips were soft and felt so right against his. He pulled away from her and took a deep breath.

She thought he was done with her, but the next words he spoke made her stiffen. "Lie back on the bed," he commanded.

Hermione was innocent, but she knew the implication of his words, and judging by the way he had roughly and hungrily kissed her, she knew he wouldn't be gentle. She placed her small hands on his powerful chest in alarm and tried to push him back in vain attempt to keep him from her.

Draco captured her small hands in his and pulled them off his chest. In one swift moment he removed his dark silk shirt and carelessly threw it aside. He wordlessly pushed her unwillingly body onto the bed.

She closed her eyes in denial, and tried to use her elbows to get off the bed. It all felt like a nightmare to her. Her eyes went huge when she heard him undoing his trousers.

Hermione went very still when she finally opened her eyes to see him standing completely naked in front of her. He was an imposing figure and he was painfully aroused.

"No!" she screamed as he climbed on top of her. Tears began pouring down her face as he ripped off her white nightgown. "Please," she begged as he began running his hands over her naked body.

Draco stopped as he heard the tears in her voice. He looked into her glistening eyes. The tears he saw running down her cheeks made his heart ache for some unknown reason. He couldn't figure out why he cared, but seeing her in such a state made him want to comfort her. His conflicting emotions frustrated him. It must be the fucking blood bond again.

He cupped her face and began kissing her tears away. "Don't cry," he murmured. His voice was gentle even though he felt as if he could rip her apart in his frustration. What the devil was wrong with him? It wasn't as if he actually cared about her feelings or tears. In fact, he was only willingly sullying himself with her to get her out of his system.

Hermione's thoughts were in utter turmoil. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with the blond wizard. His words and actions were contradictive. She couldn't keep up with his random mood swings. She didn't want him. It was all one-sided.

"I can't stop," he admitted in a ragged voice as he passionately kissed her again. His tongue delved inside her unyielding mouth. He nearly groaned as pleasure rushed through his body. His hands traveled down her untouched body, exploring her. She whimpered at his touch.

Hermione's own body betrayed her as he expertly continued teasing her mouth and body. She felt a small fire start at her lower belly and flare out all over her.

It was overwhelming her senses.

_He_ was overwhelming her senses.

Her body began to slowly relax under his touch. As much as she hated it, she couldn't help but enjoy the fire he was stroking within her. The adrenaline running through her body from being scared only heightened her pleasure. He cradled the back of her head as he kissed her even harder.

Draco could feel his disgust for the small girl, but it felt very far away, almost as if it were nonexistent, yet he knew his abhorrence for her still lurked in the back of his mind. Right now though, he really didn't care.

Finally, he separated his mouth from hers to take a breath and looked into her dazed eyes. He groaned as he saw her swollen pink lips and rosy cheeks.

She raised her dainty hands to his chest again, trying to restrain him for a second time.

"Don't touch me," he demanded as he angrily pushed her hands away. He didn't want her touching him more than was necessary. He held himself above her, his lean, hard, and masculine body pressing against her small, soft, and feminine one.

Draco wanted to bury himself inside her. He couldn't help himself, she was addicting. He knew she was a virgin, but he wasn't planning on suppressing his rough sexual nature. No, he was doing this to gain his own satisfaction, not hers. He simply tuned out the voice in his head that told him to proceed in a gentle manner.

Hermione was about to point out that she didn't want to touch him, when he quickly pushed her legs apart and placed his hardness in between them.

The petite girl closed her eyes in utter terror and denial. She went completely still when she felt the tip of his intimidating erection pushing against her slippery folds.

He kissed her, then he pushed, and in one deep thrust he ripped through her innocence.

When he was finally inside her, the pain that swept through Hermione's body was blinding, and it only seemed to sharpen as he began to move.

He drove himself deep and hard inside her tight cavern. She was so wet, he slid himself in and out without taking notice of the extreme pain he was causing her. Her muffled screams made him slightly uncomfortable, but the way she was gripping his length drove all his merciful and guilty thoughts away.

He was kissing her mouth with hunger, but soon his thrusts became so erratic that he couldn't properly kiss her.

She could only hold onto his broad back and muscular shoulders as he finally grunted and collapsed next to her.

Hermione stared down in horror as blue tinted blood and other fluids trickled down her thighs. She attempted to get up, but Draco pulled her down. He leaned over to her ear and said, "You're right I do hate mudbloods, and I really hate witches that can't keep a secret." The small brunette choked on a sob as she nodded at his threat.

Draco was confused at her reaction. He had felt the way her body responded to his, but for some reason she was crying. Hadn't she liked it? Or did virgins usually cry? If anything she should be grateful that her first time was with a pure-blood.

She turned away as he got up. She curled into a ball and immediately froze as she felt him pick her up as if she were a mere child. Before she could question what he was doing, she saw her bathroom come into view.

"We're going to shower," he informed her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter! Thank you to all my awesome readers and amazing reviewers. Tell me what you think in a review! Reviews make my day.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

Hermione turned her head away when Draco placed her in the small shower stall. He was standing directly in front of her, towering over her. She was still terrified of him and had hoped not to have to see him so soon after what he had done to her.

She was completely exposed to him, yet he was uninterested in her nudity. Her mouth was raw from screaming when he was hurting her.

Exhausted from struggling for what had seemed like endless hours, she savored the cooling water caressing her burning face and tired body.

A pain, that brought tears to her eyes that mingled with the descending water, was blossoming in her core.

She stood there, as Draco started scrubbing his skin raw, fighting to remain awake when she began swaying on her unsteady feet. Hanging her head low as weariness overwhelmed her, she stared at the strange blue tinged blood pooling below at her feet. Attempting to ignore the agonizing pain at the junction of her thighs, she tried to slightly bend over to clean away the mixture of fluids dripping down her shaky legs, but quickly straightened up as her vision began to viciously blur.

With a sudden wave of uneasiness, Hermione wrapped her thin arms around her abdomen in a protective gesture, and fell forward.

Draco stumbled slightly in surprise when he quickly caught the diminutive witch. He straightened slowly, his icy grey eyes studiously staring down into her face. His aristocratic features remained expressionless as he now saw the visible signs of pain etched in her pale face, and the blue blood running down her slender legs. He stood there, fighting to keep his raging emotions inside. He shifted his grip, his slippery hands making it very difficult for him to sustain her from falling.

The girl in his arms was dainty, her small frame shivering. He gave her a hard shake.

Hermione struggled to open her heavy eyelids, bit down her trembling lower lip, and gasped back a sob when she noticed how Draco's naked hard and muscular body was pressing against hers. Her body felt as if flames were consuming it, she felt very weak, drained, and couldn't move.

She closed her eyes, the feel of his bare skin against hers touching her intimately, was too much for her terrified mind.

Draco began to feel the first stirrings of panic and fear, trickling down his spine and making his stomach drop as he heard her make a faint whimper of pain. Had he hurt her that much? He was always dominantly rough in bed with other witches, but he made it a rule of his not to sleep with virgins because they don't know how to adequately please him. None of the witches he had slept with before had ever bled so profusely or appeared to be in such pain, but then again he had never been with a very inexperienced witch like her. Also, he always was a bit gentler with other witches and more in control.

As minutes passed by, he felt her go limp and finally came to the conclusion that he needed a healer.

"Fuck," he whispered as he turned off the water, effortlessly gathered the unconscious girl into his strong arms, and began moving towards her bed. His long silent strides quickly ended as he gently placed the girl in the bed, and withdrew his wand from his crumpled clothing.

He scanned her white nightgown, torn and destroyed and used a spell to rectify the damage done to it. Draco dried off both their bodies using his wand, approached the girl in the bed, and forced her body into a sitting position.

He was about to put the nightgown over her, wondering how long it would take him to successfully undo the elaborate buttons covering the front, when he paused for a moment, his silvery blond brows forming a frown as he realized that it would take far too long to get her dressed in that troublesome garment. His life depended on hers, and her condition seemed to be worsening by the minute.

In his panic, he didn't use his wand to dress himself or her, and instead manually put on his trousers and easily put his silk shirt over her exposed body. She was so tiny that his shirt completely covered her.

Once he made sure they were both decently covered, he picked up the unconscious witch and cradled her to his bare chest. The platinum necklace around his neck not only represented the wealth and prestige of the Malfoy bloodline, but it also served as a portkey to the Malfoy Manor.

All evidence of his presence and that of the small girl's soon vanished from the unimpressive Hufflepuff dorm as they reappeared in his elaborate and lavish master bedroom in the Malfoy Manor. He deposited the limp girl in the middle of his huge bed, and brought his hand down to rest against her burning forehead, and brushed back a couple of errant strands of her wavy golden-brown hair that stuck to her sweat-drenched face.

He didn't want anyone to know he had been with a mudblood because he didn't want to taint his perfect pure-blood reputation, yet he pushed aside all of his disdainful thoughts, summoned a house-elf to fetch him the healer that regularly attended him, put on a silk shirt, and simply waited in impatient silence.

At last, when the rising sphere in the sky began illuminating the room with radiant warm-colored rays, a young man with freckles cut through Draco's thoughts as he entered the room. Draco slowly dropped his pale hand from the girl's forehead and would have stepped away from her, but the man that had entered the room did not seem familiar to him at all. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

**. . .**

The freckled man, named Edric, quietly stood in uncomfortable silence as he watched with barely concealed interest as the silvery blond wizard seemed to unknowingly bend down over the sick girl's body in a possessive manner. He assumed he was summoned to treat Draco Malfoy, but appeared to be incorrect in his assumption as said wizard seemed perfectly fine.

Over the years with training alongside his father, the healer that exclusively treated the Malfoy family, Edric had gathered vast knowledge about the Malfoy's health history; partly because he knew that one day he would take over his father's place.

He was aware of the peculiar inherited disease that solely affected the males of the Malfoy lineage. Oddly enough, the disease was traced back many generations in the aristocratic family, yet no conclusive cause or cure was found. He was a bit confused at finding himself in the odd situation, but thoroughly intimidated by the tall wizard in the elegant room that seemed to exude an arrogant and menacing power.

Determined to retain his newly acquired professionalism, despite the apprehension coiling in his belly, the freckled man introduced himself. "Mister Malfoy, I am Edric Fitzgerald, the son of Alec Fitzgerald."

As the words of introduction registered in Draco's head, he scrutinized the young man's freckled face and finally found a resemblance to the healer that generally treated his bruises and lesions since childhood.

"Why are you here?" asked Draco suddenly breaking the uneasy silence. His words were unabashed and cold, betraying nothing of the chaotic emotions of fear and worry swirling inside him.

"My father passed away last month, and now I take his place as your personal healer, Mister Malfoy," said the healer with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"I see. Have you taken the oath of secrecy?" questioned Draco as he stared down at the petite witch, seeing the creases of pain more pronounced in her drained face. He studied the uneven rise of her chest, and for one nightmarish moment he thought she had stopped breathing, but soon witnessed her unsteady breathing return.

He only raised his gaze when the freckled wizard started speaking once again.

"Yes, I am not allowed to reveal any of information about my medical practice, which is at your disposal," confirmed the young healer. All the time he was confirming his oath of secrecy, Draco's icy eyes never left his face.

"Very well. As you can see, I am not in need of your abilities. I called you here because the girl in my bed requires your medical attention," Draco said, finally stepping aside. He clenched his fists as the healer audibly displayed his shock when he took in the witch's full body and the extent of her bleeding.

Edric gave the tall wizard a questioning look, seeing that the blond still offered no explanation for the unusual colored blood that Edric knew derived from a blood bond or gave any sort of information that may be useful in the inevitable examination of the apparently wounded girl. He tried to ignore the harsh glare directed at him, hoping that by doing so, the blond wizard would provide him with some sort of answers to his questions.

"Mister Malfoy, do you know what happened-" began the healer.

"She was... Treated rather crudely during a sexual encounter," explained Draco in a grave voice as he once again gazed at the witch with a concerned expression. He was worried that if something was to go wrong, and the mudblood did die, he would undoubtedly die along with her.

The freckled healer completely misinterpreted the wizard's protective posture and gentle gestures. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the rapist was caught-" said the healer in an apologetic voice, but was caught off by Draco's slow hiss of anger.

Draco scowled. His usually expressionless features began twisting in anger when he heard the healer indirectly call him a rapist. "I didn't rape her," he growled.

Realizing that his uncalculated words were distressing the dangerous wizard, Edric let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in, and became determined in taking back control of the current situation, "Thank you for the provided information, Mister Malfoy. As you can see, I have quite a bit of work ahead of me, so if you would excuse us..."

Draco Malfoy tried very hard to fight down the sudden burst of fury, and deadly thoughts that overwhelmed him as he saw the healer approach the small witch, and without another word walked out of his room before his violent thoughts decided to make a physical appearance.

**. . .**

Forcing himself to forget about the sick girl, having already determined that the healer would soon reveal what her fate would be, Draco looked away from the ornate double wooden doors. He slightly turned his head and raised a silvery blond brow at a nervous house-elf. "What do you want?" he questioned in an annoyed voice. The house-elf then proceeded to inform him that his grandparents had left and never returned. Draco let out a sigh and told the house-elf that he was the master of the house and to not point out the obvious.

The scared house-elf quickly disappeared from his view.

Draco already knew his grandparents had left the Malfoy Manor to live out their remaining days traveling the world. He knew that as soon as he graduated in two weeks, the responsibilities of running the numerous business properties that once belonged to his deceased father and had then been temporarily handled by his grandfather would fall into his permanent ownership.

His withered grandfather's health was rapidly deteriorating, and Draco knew that it wouldn't be long before his beloved grandfather also succumbed to the disease that was known to kill Malfoy males at a young age. In fact, he thought it was rather shocking that his grandfather had survived for as long as he had, but he had always been a strong wizard. A once strong and proud wizard that was now bound to a wheelchair, depended on his elderly loyal wife for nourishment, and could not perform the most mundane tasks without being in extreme agony.

Thinking about his unavoidable future, and all those cursed before and after him, made his head hurt with resentment, sorrow, and anger.

Suddenly, the sound of the opening doors cut through his dark thoughts, drowning them out in the realization that the freckled healer had reached a diagnosis and hopefully treated the mudblood's ailment.

"I have bad news," said Edric.

Draco Malfoy silently cursed the incompetent healer and railed against him in his mind, yet on the outside he appeared perfectly calm and normal as he nodded his head for the healer to continue delivering his poorly received bad news.

"The young witch suffered a considerable amount of blood loss from vaginal abrasions and forced tearing. A prolonged panic attack caused her to faint, along with the pain from the... crude sexual encounter. I was able to heal most of the cuts inside her and bruises on her thighs, hips, and back, but I cannot administer a blood-replenishing potion on her," informed the healer in a perfectly unbiased monotone.

Clenching his jaw, his grey eyes now narrowed, Draco approached the healer. "What do you mean you can't administer a blood-replenishing potion?" growled Draco.

Although Edric could practically feel the poison of the tall wizard's words, he maintained his professionalism and explained, "Mister Malfoy, you may not be aware of this, but the muggle-born witch inside your master bedroom has a blue tinged blood type due to a blood bond. Judging by the markings on her hips and back it is safe to assume that a min formed the blood bond. As a result, her blood type is only compatible with the male that she was bonded to. I must implore you to seek out the male, and bring him here at once. The girl didn't give me the name of the wizard before I put her in a deep sleep. I need to make a blood transfusion, and I need the male's help in retaining physical contact with the witch in order to speed up the healing process and ensure that the blood transfusion is not rejected. The lives of two individuals are at stake here.

Draco paled. The healer's words grated against Draco's already thinning patience. Why was it that women always seemed to depend on men to save their lives? If it weren't for the fact that his life was eternally tied to hers, he wouldn't even bother contemplating giving away his precious blood.

He shook his head, and nonchalantly replied," I'm the one she was bonded to."

Edric's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when he heard the unexpected declaration coming from the blond wizard. Never in his life did he think he would live to meet two individuals blood bonded by a min, yet there he was discovering that a Malfoy wizard was bound to a muggle-born witch. He knew that the Malfoys valued wealth and judging by the small and brief conversation he had with the small witch before he put her under a sleeping spell, she wasn't rich. He also knew from first account experiences that the Malfoys were strong believers in blood purity, which is why he now stood in shock at hearing the surprising revelation coming from Draco Malfoy, a notorious pure-blood supremacist.

"Well? Are you simply going to stand there all day staring at me!" Draco impatiently yelled. He was furious that the damn healer didn't seem to move. As far as he knew he didn't pay for ineptitude.

"Um... Please follow me inside, Mister Malfoy," Edric stammered, his freckled face blushing furiously in embarrassment.

Mentally scowling for being invited into his bedroom, he merely agreed and stepped inside when Edric held open the door for him.

Edric merely stood with a perplexed look on his face, so Draco took the initiative and motioned for the healer to sit in his vintage French style sofa, while he stood opposite to him.

"Explain to me how you're going to perform this transfusion," demanded Draco.

"Ah, yes. Well, it's quite simple. I need you to place your hand on top hers, and remain connected while I recite a few spells. It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes," replied the healer in a quick voice.

Draco approached the small girl that was now close to the left side of his bed, studied her ashen face, and opened her small hand to place his much larger one over it. He tried not to enjoy the touch of her skin on his, but it felt too soothing. He let out an exasperated sigh, and could feel his heart racing as the healer began chanting a spell.

He knew that his reaction to simply touching a witch's hand was highly unusual, and attempted to avoid the pleasing sensation by instead focusing on her face that now seemed to be regaining a healthier hue. The chanting finally stopped and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Now what?" he asked, pinning the healer with a glare for making him touch the mudblood.

The freckled young man lifted an eyebrow at him and said, " Mister Malfoy I'm going to need you retain much more physical contact with her until she fully recovers."

"Do you really think that's a good idea after... what happened?" he asked in an uncertain voice.

"Yes, it is for her health. I highly recommend removing yourself from her once she starts stirring in order to avoid frightening her any further. A simple embrace for a couple of hours will suffice," calmly explained the healer.

Draco almost stumbled back in alarm. "What do you mean?" he demanded again, although he had an awful feeling that he already knew.

"Well... I meant what I said. Embracing her for a couple hours will restore her health, but please refrain from engaging in... Questionable behavior with an unconscious witch," said the healer in a somewhat contemptuous tone.

Angered, he grabbed the unsuspecting wizard by the throat, and yanked him against the nearest wall with lighting speed, raising him a couple of inches into the air as he glared at him. "Don't forget your place, healer," hissed Draco.

The feeling of menace in the air, made the freckled man feel completely terrified.

The angry wizard released the healer from his deathly grip, and stepped away from him.

"I suggest you take your leave now," dismissed Draco.

Once he made sure that the idiotic healer had left and that none of the multiple house-elves that resided in the Malfoy Manor would approach his bedroom, he went to shut the curtains of the large stained glass windows that were illuminating the room in a golden tint.

Draco felt like ripping something to shreds at being forced to share his own personal bed with the girl. He stood in front of the bed, silent, staring down at the witch. "Damn mudblood," he sneered as he got in bed with her and gathered her petite body against his chest. Draco stared into the darkness of his bedroom, and decided to take a small nap. He was a lot more tired than he predicted because he slept until the small girl in his arms began struggling.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than the others because I'm sick and my defiant brain doesn't like to comply with my demands to stay alert and fully conscious, haha. I hope you still like this chapter, though. Review! Reviews are highly treasured and appreciated. ****Encore merci, chers lecteurs.**

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><p>Chapter Eight<p>

Hermione gingerly fluttered her eyelashes, trying to ignore how the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she woke up with an abrupt start. Rubbing her eyes with shaky hands, the small girl forced herself to block out her dizziness.

She felt as if she were caught in a nightmare as her blurry gaze looked around a darkened bedroom that she didn't recognize. Her head was spinning, and her heart was pounding in unreasonable fear. She closed her tired eyes, trying to remember where she was, and what she was doing. She tried stretching her sore limbs, and went momentarily still as she finally noticed a strong arm wrapped around her slim waist.

The small girl tried to calm herself and carefully spun around to see who was cradling her in such a tender embrace.

Hermione's eyes adjusted to the darkness and she was at last able to make out the face of Malfoy. She was completely shocked to realize they were both in the same bed. He looked so angelic while sleeping that she was tempted to run her fingers along his perfect smooth cheek, until memories began flooding back to her.

Memories of rough hands hurting her. Memories of someone brutally ripping through her virginity without care or mercy. Memories of extreme pain. Her eyes winded in realization. She jammed her fist into her mouth to stop herself from outright screaming and waking him. She tried very hard to hold back the overwhelming panic that was now consuming her, but in the end she let out a terrified scream, and began to push at her tormentor's chest.

He didn't budge.

It was almost as if his chest were a wall made out of stone. She felt so utterly helpless with his arm still draped around her. She shoved at his chest again, but this time she also clawed at his face in a desperate attempt to break free of his possessive grip.

**. . .**

Draco suddenly woke up with a groan and quickly became aware of his surroundings, specifically of a wailing mudblood trying to claw out his eyes. He removed his arm from her waist and placed it across his burning eyes to protect them from her nails. Before she could move or further harm him, he caught her wrists and slammed them down to the bed on either side of her head. He pinned her body with his weight, effortlessly holding her down.

Her terror filled screams increased in volume as she twisted underneath his overpowering strength. She closed her eyes shut and recalled being in a similar position when he was forcing something that was far too large into her petite body.

He couldn't think straight as he felt her small body bucking underneath his much larger one. The more she struggled, the more his body hardened. Her tantalizing scent combined with the feel of her delicate body was making it increasingly difficult for him to control himself. He felt as if he were caught in a dreamlike state in which his body had an agenda of its own.

"Enough, mudblood," he commanded in a harsh voice. He refused to acknowledge that a mudblood was arousing him, again. Bile rose in his mouth as he felt his body betray him and tighten in anticipation.

Tears began trailing down her face as she still kept screaming, thrashing, and unknowingly brushing her body against his, despite his warning.

Draco closed his eyes briefly, trying hard not to notice how his silk shirt that covered her slim body had risen up. He unexpectedly wished he had removed his clothing before he had succumbed to sleep. He wanted to feel her exposed soft skin pressed against his own. The warm little ragged breaths hitting his neck were driving him wild with need. He desperately wanted to bury himself inside her once again. Against his better judgment, he shifted his weight, nudging her bare slender legs apart to accommodate him.

Hermione stopped trashing and choked back a scream when she felt his intimidating hardness pressing against her exposed core. She couldn't breathe properly and turned her head away from his descending mouth. She gave a tortured cry of distress as her heartbeat raced in sheer terror.

The small gasping sounds that she was now making made Draco's blood turn into liquid fire. His searching lips finally made contact with hers. He dominated her mouth, his tongue delving deep as he thrust his hips forward. The only thing keeping him from taking her were his trousers.

His mouth left hers so he could trail kisses down her throat. He was losing control, his hips desperately thrusting as he swirled his tongue against the tempting pulse of her neck. The taste of her skin was just as addicting as her unique smell.

"Please... Stop," she softly begged with tears in her voice. The soreness in her core was increasing in discomfort and being amplified with his mindless thrusts. In her mind, she knew he wouldn't listen to her, yet there was a small part of her that hoped he would stop tormenting her.

Draco was barely able to make out the words of her small plea, but the evident despair he heard in her voice made him freeze as he felt his gut clench, and his chest constrict in pain.

He had to fight through layers of haze to break free of the sexual enthrallment he seemed to be under. He rolled off of her, to lie beside her with his eyes tightly closed. He wanted to howl in frustration at the conflicting emotions rushing through him, yet he remained perfectly quiet, struggling to regain control of his raging body.

His mind was in chaos. Why did her sadness bother him? Shouldn't he be the one bothered about his body's disgusting demands to bed a mudblood? He was furious that a witch with tainted blood could make him lose control so easily. Everything in his life was about control, yet mere seconds ago all the discipline and control he possessed had shattered because of her. Never in his life had he been so grateful for the invention of trousers.

A knock brought him out of his thoughts. He instantly turned his attention toward the ornate double wooden doors. He let out a curse, rising out of the bed. He slightly opened the doors, and was surprised to see a shivering house-elf. He had explicitly told all of the damn house-elves to not to approach his chambers.

"Didn't I tell your kind to stay away?" he asked in an aggravated tone. House-elves had always irritated him ever since he was a small boy. Their weakness and submissive nature irked him. The house-elf gave him a heartfelt apology and informed him that Gabriella Flanagan was impatiently waiting for him in his living room.

Once he heard the name of the tempting witch his anger disappeared. A smirk spread across his handsome face. Gabriella wasn't exactly beautiful, but she had a pleasant enough body, and most importantly she was a pure-blood. His body could use some much needed release.

After dismissing the servant, he closed the doors, turned on the light in the room, and turned around to look at the small witch. She was huddled against the elaborate wooden headboard of his bed. His black satin sheets were tightly wrapped around her tiny body.

Hermione pulled the sheets closer around her and shuddered when she saw his cold penetrating gaze land on her. She swallowed hard and blinked back tears as he began approaching her.

Draco could clearly read the fear radiating off of her. Her eyes were wide and staring at him in apprehension. He stopped right in front of the nightstand and withdrew a bracelet that he then threw at her.

"It's a portkey that will take you to my dorm room at school. Use it, and don't leave my dorm until I go back," he said in a nonchalant voice. He left his bedroom without bothering to see if she left or not.

Draco made his way into his living room where Gabriella was impatiently waiting for him. Gabriella Flanagan was a very persistent witch that always seemed to know when he visited the Malfoy Manor. He thought she was a bit too talkative for his taste, but tonight he didn't plan on doing too much talking.

"Gabriella," he said.

The tall brunette looked up at him from the couch. "I was beginning to wonder if you were purposely ignoring me, but then I thought to myself... Why would any sane wizard ever want to ignore this?" she coyly replied as she took off her coat to reveal a skimpy lace teddy.

A slow smirk teased the curve of his mouth as his grey eyes took in her barely concealed body. He rose a delicate silvery blond brow at her outfit. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise," he said in a husky voice.

She laughed and stood up to wrap her body around his. "Do you like what you see? I picked this outfit just for you. I remember blue being your favorite color," she whispered into his ear.

Draco had to suppress a laugh at her terrible seduction attempt. He hated the color blue, and just thinking about that certain color made unwelcome memories swarm over him, memories of blue tinged blood.

Her blood. His blood. _Their_ blood.

He mentally shook his head; he didn't want to think about the mudblood. "I think I'd like to see you on your knees," he said. She did as he asked and it wasn't long before they joined their bodies.

After they were done, Draco harshly told her to leave. Every time he slept with a witch, he didn't want them to stick around for long because they had a tendency of suddenly becoming sentimental and clingy, despite his clear warnings that he didn't believe in relationships.

He went to his bedroom to wash away his sweat drenched body. As the water cascaded down his lean and muscular body he couldn't stop thinking about a certain little witch.

Even though he just had sex, his body still yearned for her touch.

**. . .**

Hermione did use the portkey, but she didn't stay in his dorm like he told her to. She quickly made her way to her dorm room, ignoring the uncomfortable soreness between her thighs.

She was horrified at what Draco had done to her. Deep down she knew that he wouldn't stop trying to make her his again. It was like he thought he owned her body. She despised him. Despised what he had done to her. He had made her his own personal whore.

Her throat clogged with emotion as she finally realized that he would force her again and there was nothing she could do about it. He was too strong for her. She went to the small living room, wrote a note to her best friend, Luna, and placed it inside the pocket of her pink jacket that was hanging in the small closet. She knew Luna would find it eventually. After all, it was her favorite jacket that Hermione had bought for her last year.

She returned to her room to take off the oversized silk shirt. After hurriedly putting on comfortable travelling clothes and packing her most treasured items, she left.

**. . .**

After showering and going over some documents in his study in the Malfoy Manor, Draco materialized into his Slytherin dorm room. He had this weird feeling coiling in the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it as he began looking for the object of his ever increasing desire.

He searched everywhere in his room, yet he couldn't find her. He even went to her dorm room and noticed that most of her belongings were gone from her bedroom.

He felt an intense rage come over him as he finally realized what she had done. A predatory gleam entered his stormy grey eyes. She was severely mistaken if she truly thought she could simply run from him.

She belonged to him.

He swore he would find her, and when he did he would make her regret ever denying him his right to her body.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N:** **Wow, a hundred reviews! I was not expecting that, but I'm pleasantly surprised about it! I want to thank all of my amazing readers and lovely reviewers for being so encouraging and simply awesome. You're the absolute best. If I could kiss all of your... foreheads without being a total creeper, I would. Oh, and thank you for worrying about my health, too. I'm much better now. [Caitlin, my darling, I love you.] I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Author getting slightly annoyed comment: It has come to my attention that a few recent readers have been ignoring my disclaimer. Take into account that "my story does not follow any of the books. It will have some twists to it, as you read I'm confident you'll be able to decipher them." I previously mentioned this in my first chapter, and my summary also includes some subtle warnings. In addition, please remember that you're in FanFiction. A place to "unleash your imagination" or in other words, a place where you can write whatever the heck you want. My story is one of those stories you have to approach with an open-minded mentality. If you don't like the way I depict the characters in MY story, then don't read it. I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you want to read a story that follows the books... Then this story is certainly not for you. Besides, I'm positive you can find many other stories on here that do indeed follow the books, instead of trying to convince me to alter my already envisioned plot. I honestly think you'd have better luck trying to convince me to get a hammer and nail my tongue to my own arm :P **

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><p>Chapter Nine<p>

Theodore Nott stood inside the Malfoy Manor, worrying in the uncomfortable silence of the living room, which he was currently sharing with his stoical blond friend. Though Theo didn't like to admit that he enjoyed bantering with Blaise, he couldn't help but miss their loud bickering.

Blaise's antics and childish behavior came to a gradual halt ever since he became sick nineteen weeks ago.

While they were still attending school, the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, who had dealt with many different ailments in her life, diagnosed it as a mild cold. At first they believed her diagnosis because the sickness seemed like any other inconsequential cold, laced with exhaustion and a light cough. However, after they graduated, the usually cheery wizard still showed no signs of improvement. In fact, he appeared to be slowly worsening.

Since Draco was now their employer, he had subtly hinted at the sick wizard on multiple occasions to take some days off from work, and get examined by a healer, but Blaise had vehemently denied any existence of his ever-increasing illness.

Both Theo and Draco knew that their friend's health was deteriorating, but they also knew he was very stubborn, which is why they had grudgingly allowed Blaise to retain his pretense. Oddly enough, it was only yesterday when the trio was going over various business documents in Draco's lavish study room that a very pale Blaise suddenly bolted up from his chair, and finally confessed that he didn't feel well, right before he collapsed.

That unfortunate incident then led to various mentions of remedies, and countless visits made by popularly sought-after healers that Draco had handsomely paid to find a cure, but despite every possible potion and spell applied to the sickly wizard, nothing seemed to help eradicate the unknown illness.

Theo was restless because of his friend's critical condition, but the truth was, he was also feeling a bit distressed about the front page cover of a magazine he had seen a week ago featuring a multi-talented healer happily embracing his new girlfriend, Luna Lovegood.

He wished he could still convince himself that she deserved what he had done to her on that fateful night for always harshly teasing him since year one, but the flimsy excuse no longer eased the gnawing guilt growing within his chest.

Although nearly five months had passed since their encounter, he couldn't stop hearing her frightened, pleading voice, playing in his mind over and over again whenever he thought of her. The fearful expression in her mesmerizing, dark blue eyes haunted his dreams along with an echo of her calling him a monster.

She probably didn't know, but he did feel like a monster for misjudging her, and every single time he saw her at school he had the overwhelming urge to apologize.

Theo was hesitant about initially seeing her in school because he believed that she would antagonize him even more than usual for what he had done to her, but she did something much worse than what he had envisioned, something he never thought could bother him.

She ignored him, acted as if he simply didn't exist.

After days of her neglecting him, he reluctantly came to the shocking conclusion that he missed her fiery temper and in a twisted way he also missed the way she used to insult him.

Why did he miss her hostile attention, when a couple of months ago all he wanted was for her to stop mocking him?

Impatient with his perplexing thoughts, Theo shook his head. Determinedly he pushed her haunting dark blue eyes and feminine voice out of his mind and turned his attention to the issue at hand. Once again thinking about Blaise's uncertain future, and feeling the icy fingers of fear grip at his heart, he looked down at the various potions and parchments scattered across the black wooden coffee table.

How could they not find a fucking cure?

He highly doubted the healer that Draco had summoned would find a bloody cure when more experienced healers had failed to do so. Thinking about healers made his mind wander to the damn freckled wizard holding Luna on the magazine cover. Theo let out an exasperated hiss at the intense emotions raging inside him. He ran his fingers through his light brown hair in a frustrated gesture, picked up a random potion from the small table, and threw it with force against the wall.

The liquid green contents splattered on the wall and began to drip down onto the floor. He then proceeded to angrily knock off all the remaining colorful glass vials with his arm. He reached out his right arm for the parchments that contained useless healing spells, intent on ripping them apart, but a strong hand stopped his destructive movements.

Draco put a restraining hand on his arm. "Calm down, mate," he said in a stern voice.

Theo aggressively removed the strong pale hand with his own, and briefly glanced over at his friend, seeing that even Draco appeared much too tired, as he most likely did ever since the illness had taken down their Italian companion. It had been a long and sleepless night for them both.

"I can't stand seeing him so sick, Drake," he wearily whispered, feeling his anger slowly vanishing. As always Draco was calm and unaffected as he replied to his brunet friend.

"I know. He is very ill, possibly dying, but destroying everything within your reach is not going to help him. You have to be patient," Draco said in a cool voice.

He anxiously glanced down at his hand without Theo being aware of it. He felt like a hypocrite advising his impatient friend to relax. It was only an hour ago that he had discreetly threatened his personal healer, Edric, to heal his fallen friend or face the possibility of his increasingly popular healer career ending prematurely, along with those that had previously failed to improve Blaise's deteriorating health.

Draco had handed out countless threats to all the seemingly incompetent healers he had hired to treat Blaise and successfully ended their prestigious reputations, yet here he was preaching about patience. He mentally snorted at the irony of his words, while outwardly keeping his composure, despite the electric shock–like pain he was feeling.

Theo's eyes widened at the daunting thought of death. He was already in an irritable mood thinking about Luna's latest boyfriend, and Draco being so negative about their friend's predicament only served to further infuriate him. The blond wizard's unabashed honesty bothered him a lot more than it usually would have.

"Don't you dare say that again!" he yelled, as his eyes blazed with renewed anger. His fists were clenching at his sides. He even whirled around and took a threatening step in Draco's direction.

Draco's face remained expressionless at the threat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned.

Theo glared at him, and could finally see the worry that Draco was trying very hard to conceal in his pale eyes. He was always the responsible one of the trio, but his frankness, had even, strange as it seemed, incensed Theo more than anything. He knew he was directing his anger at the wrong person, but the fact that one of his best friends was withering away and he couldn't do anything about it aggravated him beyond reason. He was never good at controlling his emotions or remaining calm when distraught.

He truly envied the way Draco always managed to stay so calm and collected when put in difficult situations, leaving hardly any visible evidence of his emotions. As his glare softened he could see that Draco still had something to hide in his silvery gaze, but he neither could question nor decipher what it was. Instead, Theo took a deep breath and slowly released it, having the knowledge that Draco was a powerful wizard and despite his cold exterior he cared about Blaise, he backed off.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking properly. You're right. I should stay calm," said Theo, looking away from the Draco's impassive form.

The aloof wizard merely nodded his head. The uncomfortable silence between the two grew. They were both too caught up in their own troubled thoughts to carry out any sort of meaningful conversation.

**. . .**

Draco Malfoy, owner of various business properties and the wealthy wizard in ownership of the largest privately-funded new casino resort built in the continent, was having a difficult time reigning in his pain caused by Theo's hand.

The last couple of months, Draco was certain, was the most accurate depiction of a living hell that any male in the world was most likely to endure. With the slightest form of injury or pressure, he found himself put through an excruciating amount of pain so intense that he had to refrain from appropriately closing important business deals by not shaking hands with other prominent wizards.

He was even forced to remain celibate because his rough sexual nature sometimes resulted in scratches decorating his back. Someone gripping his hand in a benevolent gesture or a witch passionately holding onto him caused far too much pain for him to bear nowadays.

It was pathetic the way he was reduced to evade handshakes and abstain from trysts. It was as if the new pain tolerance he had temporarily developed since the blood bond had disappeared and left him with an incredible susceptibility to pain. He didn't know what had led his disease to return with an altered vengeance.

He wanted to know, but he didn't want to ask nor appear weak, not even in front of his personal healer that was sworn to secrecy.

Lately he was very busy with his work, yet his mind always drifted to a filthy little mudblood. He did not have time to locate her since his grandfather's sudden death made him take control of the family business much sooner than he had anticipated, but he planned to find her soon. He hadn't forgotten about her disobedience, and with the dreams plaguing him about her moaning underneath him, he doubted he ever would.

**. . .**

Edric Fitzgerald, the "shy" genius behind the extremely creative, and best-selling books featuring fictional heroes with rare hereditary diseases, and the personal healer of the Malfoy family, had just finished diagnosing his newest non-Malfoy patient. He was now looking for a way to gain the attention of the two tense wizards in the living room that seemed to be very much lost in their own thoughts.

He had tried verbally capturing their attention at least three times to no avail, and even cleared his throat so obnoxiously loud that it burned.

A soft sigh escaped him.

Edric decided that tapping on the shoulder of one of the wizards would have to suffice. The closest wizard to him with light brown hair was someone he didn't recognize, but his gentle features made him seem much more approachable than the blond wizard that appeared to be brooding farther away.

"Sir," he respectfully addressed as he carefully tapped the brunet's shoulder.

Theo slightly jumped at the unexpected voice and turned around. He couldn't believe the sight that greeted him. There right in front of him was the wizard that he had seen hugging Luna on the magazine cover, the wizard that he had mentally been destroying in his mind for approximately a week.

He really, really didn't like the freckled wizard. Had he been thinking about the couple for so long that he had finally lost it and started to hallucinate?

Theo reached out his hand to confirm if he was still mentally stable or had simply lost his sanity. As his hand touched flesh, he said the only thing that came to mind, "What the fuck?"

Edric's violet eyes widened substantially as the light brunet began petting his face. He drew back, relieved when the offending hand simply fell away, and backed up as far away as he could from the odd wizard.

Theo, meanwhile, was edging towards him. His hazel eyes flared fire, and for a moment Edric could have sworn that he resembled a predator about to pounce on his prey, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver the fatal blow.

"I apologize, I did not mean to startle you," Edric quickly responded, swallowing uncomfortably.

**. . .**

Draco was consumed in his troubled thoughts and glancing outside the large stained glass windows, where the sky was turning the palest tint of orange, when a familiar and slightly nervous voice brought him out of his stupor.

"Theo, what are you doing to my personal healer?" inquired Draco in a perplexed voice. He truly had no idea why his friend seemed to be stalking towards the freckled young man that was clearly disturbed by the weird behavior.

Theo stiffened. He quickly became aware of his actions, and lightly blushed at being caught stalking a wizard. He ran his hand through his hair and slowly came to the realization that Blaise's life depended on the damn healer that was now staring at him with a wary, and dumbfounded expression.

"Nothing," he murmured. He slowly moved away, sat down on a leather couch, and silently glared at the healer from a distance.

Draco frowned and before he could comment on Theo's bizarre behavior, Edric spoke up. "Mister Malfoy, may I speak to you in private?" he asked in a tentative voice, casting anxious glances in Theo's direction.

Draco didn't say a word nor nod; he merely looked into the freckled healer's violet eyes, silently agreeing to his request.

Edric began walking hurriedly away, with the blond wizard following alongside him. "I have bad news," he commented, rather relieved that he no longer had to feel glares directed at him.

"You always have bad news," Draco said in a grim voice. The healer continued walking and only nodded without providing an explanation as they traveled down a corridor that led to one of the many guest rooms in the Malfoy Manor.

Hardly breathing, Draco went inside the room after his healer. He saw Blaise's deathly pale face. His cheeks were gaunt and sunken, his lips cracking and bleeding from excessive dryness. His once glossy dark hair was now lifeless and dull. The smell of vomit clung to his breath.

The sickness had left him so emaciated that Draco could clearly make out the outline of his pronounced bones in his upper body. He had no idea Blaise was hiding such a skeletal-looking body under his concealing clothes. Seeing his carefree friend in such a state made his heart twist.

He moved to bend down closer to his sick companion and placed a cool hand on his fevered brow. Tears threatened to descend from his grey eyes as he slowly swept the stubborn sweat drenched bangs away from his eyes. Draco always thought that they were just as stubborn as his personality and had once told him so. He faintly smiled at the memory of striking blue eyes flashing fire. He would give anything in the world to see those lively eyes again.

Blaise's unconscious body shivered and Draco gently drew the blanket up to cover his pale exposed chest that had a faint, yet large orange spot on it. He rose to his full height and addressed his healer.

"What's the bad news?" he asked in a calm voice that gave nothing away about the sadness building up inside him.

"Well, the bad news is that he's slowly dying from min poison," informed Edric.

"Min poison? He never got close to a transformed min. I've already told you how I was the one that killed it," he replied, his voice full of confusion.

"I remember, but you don't understand. The poison of a min resides in an orange cloud that is only present for three days after a min dies. The clouds are dangerous to witches, since it attracts them and causes them to do anything to reach them, which generally leads to death in emotionally unstable witches. Wizards, on the other hand, are poisoned by a very fine mist released from the clouds only at night. At some point your friend must have ventured out into the night after you recently killed the min, and gotten himself poisoned. The faint orange spot on his chest is the poison," explained Edric.

"I see, but if what you are saying is true, then why didn't any of the teachers at school warn the students?" Draco asked in a dubious voice. He really didn't want to believe that he was indirectly responsible for his friend's critical condition.

A smug smile lifted Edric's lips. "Because very little is known about mins. Mostly all of the information available to the public is inaccurate. There have only been two books written about mins. One of them is in Germany, and the other one in my library," he said in a proud voice.

Having grown somewhat close to his capable and efficient healer in the past months, Draco was not shocked because he knew that Edric was obsessed with writing and reading. He also knew the freckled wizard collected odd books like no other.

"Well, does your book have a solution for my friend's predicament?" questioned Draco.

"Yes, your blood or the blood of the female you bonded with will heal him. Since she's obviously not present, it will have to be you. All you have to do is lightly prick your index finger and mix the blood with a potion I created," replied Edric.

He gulped, produced the dagger from his boot, and lightly pricked his finger.

**. . .**

Forty-five minutes later, a cautious Edric along with a stoic Draco entered into the living room in which Theo was now sleeping in. If Draco wasn't in such a ridiculous amount of pain from lightly pricking his finger, he would have woken up the light brunet to deliver the good news of Blaise's antidote, but instead he merely turned and began to dismiss his healer who seemed very anxious and pale.

"What's wrong? He's not going to do anything to you. See? He's sleeping," explained Draco as he gestured towards the sleeping form with his wounded hand. He ignored the pain that the simple movement caused, and if it weren't for his discipline and control, he would have howled in pain.

"It's not him," retorted Edric, as evenly as he could.

Draco glanced at him with a mildly surprised expression across his face.

"I see," he said dryly, incorrectly assuming he was the reason for his healer's anxiety.

The healer scoffed, then smiled at Draco's assumption. "No, it's not you either. It's my girlfriend," clarified Edric.

The tall blond gave him an inquiring look.

"Today I get to meet her best friend and I'm worried she won't like me. If the best friend doesn't like you, then the relationship is practically doomed. Besides, the place I'm taking her to is very fancy and she doesn't really seem to like fancy," said the freckled wizard with a worried look in his violet eyes.

Draco chuckled at Edric's strange logic. "I don't know who your new girlfriend is, but I can assure you that your assumption isn't true. Where are you taking her, anyway?" he asked, hopeful that if he kept talking, he would get distracted enough to forget the awful pain now coursing through his system.

Edric grinned broadly and replied, "The Glacies restaurant inside Eximius."

"Ah, my casino resort rarely disappoints," said Draco in an arrogant voice, pleasantly surprised by Edric's revelation.

Edric smiled once more in agreement, before he left to meet his date, leaving the grey-eyed wizard all alone to endure the pain.

As another fresh wave of pain washed over him, Draco clenched his jaw.

If his pain became too intense he would be forced to ruin Edric's date.

**. . .**

Edric felt somewhat annoyed at himself for how nervous he was getting about meeting his girlfriend's best friend, but he couldn't help it. He really cared for Luna, and didn't want to mess up what they had by leaving a bad impression.

The last time he had felt this uncharacteristically nervous was when he had first met Draco.

A faint smirk adorned his face as he thought back to that day, there was no way the witch he was meeting today could ever make him feel as uneasy as his employer once had.

With that calming thought, he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, straightened out his coat, and walked into Eximius.

A few minutes later, his violet eyes scanned an intricately carved wooden door.

Relaxed now, he proceeded to enter the restaurant with an air of absolute confidence.

Ice sculptures spread all around the room, antique crystal chandeliers decorating the high ceilings, beautiful arrangements on the tables, enchanted white and silver plants crawling up the walls in a stylish manner, and the soft sound of a piano playing in the background created the illusion of stepping into a completely different world.

He had to admit that Draco was good at what he did.

After Edric recovered from the beauty of it and finished mentally comparing the icy look of the room to Draco's personality, he was led by a pleasant hostess to his table.

Once he sat down, he noticed that Luna was late. He slightly frowned.

"May I get you something to drink, while you wait for your party, sir?" questioned a tall waitress with dark hair and icy blue eyes.

He settled for a glass of wine.

Five minutes passed when Edric smiled at seeing his beautiful girlfriend approaching his table with a dainty witch with long brown hair that wasn't looking in his direction.

Once her gaze lifted to reveal familiar big brown eyes he nearly choked on his wine. He stared at her stunned expression, and then at her slightly protruding belly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: I apologize for not updating sooner, but my beloved grandmother was diagnosed with cancer recently, and as a result I haven't felt like writing lately, until today. I actually wrote most of this chapter in the hospital food court, so it might not be too great. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Review!**

* * *

><p>Chapter ten<p>

Edric couldn't believe his girlfriend's best friend was the same witch that he had been trying to locate. He knew his extremely affluent employer was busy lately, but he also knew that his health depended on the petite witch, despite the fact that Draco didn't like whenever the complicated and delicate issue was brought up.

He had tried many times to find out information about the nameless witch, but without his irritable blond friend's cooperation it was impossible. For the last couple of months Edric had listened to Luna describe and talk about her friend in length, but he never made the connection. He inwardly shook his head in disbelief.

After successfully regaining his composure on the outside, he smiled at his girlfriend. The extroverted blonde gave him a dazzling smile in return as he rose to his feet to greet her with a chaste kiss.

After the kiss, she encircled her arms around his neck for a brief moment. He took the opportunity to exchange a quick glance with the brunette. He noticed the recognition in her enormous eyes right before she averted her gaze.

Hermione stood in barely concealed shock, unable to momentarily breathe. She didn't like the way the wizard had looked at her abdomen. Had her brief loss of concentration ruined her glamour spell? As the young man's violet eyes locked with hers, she swiftly looked away. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying in vain to block out the reality of her misfortune.

Dread welled up inside her. She desperately wanted to believe she was still in her apartment, and that she was simply having another nightmare like she did every night. It seemed unreal to her.

How could her first time returning to the wizarding world lead her to the personal healer of a wizard that struck fear in her heart?

She had spent the last few months in the muggle world attempting to move on, and forget about what happened to her, yet right in front of her, and under her blouse were two physical reminders of her rape.

"Edric, let me introduce you to Hermione Granger. One of my dearest friends. Hermione, this is my boyfriend, Edric Fitzgerald," said Luna after she gently pulled away from the healer's warm embrace.

She was oblivious of the rising tension around her.

Before Edric could respond, the petite brunette stuck out her hand, gave him a very nervous look, and softly said, "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard wonderful things about you."

He subtly cleared his throat, shook her small hand, and privately wondered why she was pretending as if they had never met before. He raised an eyebrow in inquiry at her, but the pleading look in her expressive eyes convinced him to play along.

"Likewise," he replied with a polite smile.

After they settled down in their table, and looked over the menu, the shocked wizard couldn't stop directing his attention towards the small witch. She never looked at him as he openly stared at her.

He concluded that the dark circles under her eyes, and the lines of exhaustion stamped on her face were most likely caused by insomnia. He knew that if the child she carried was a boy, then he was going to inherit the Malfoy disease, and that her pregnancy would be very difficult.

He gave her a look filled with pity as the waitress returned to the table.

"Mr. Vestvik, I see your friends are finally here," she pointed out in a sultry voice. If the freckled healer weren't so caught up in his thoughts, he would have noticed the flirtatious tilt of her eyebrows, and the way she briefly set her disapproving blue gaze on Luna.

"Indeed," was his noncommittal reply.

Pressing her lips in indignation, Luna made her irritation known as she corrected the tall witch. "I'm his girlfriend," she pointedly clarified.

The waitress made a contemptuous facial expression at the animated blonde. It was obvious to Luna that the waitress was a fan of Edric's writing since she addressed him by his well-known pen name.

Every so often, when they went out as a couple, female fans of his would treat her with extreme dislike simply because they were jealous. She understood that her boyfriend's success as a fantasy author earned him popularity among many individuals, but she still didn't like how a lot of questionable women had the audacity to flirt with him, especially in front of her.

The fan simply turned her back to Luna, ignored the comment, and instead introduced herself to Hermione. She then suggested a beverage to the self-effacing brunette.

"Would you like to try our signature wine?" asked the waitress in a sweet voice.

Being too immersed in her troubled thoughts, Hermione didn't immediately respond, until the waitress began repeating the question.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'd like some iced water, please," requested Hermione with an apologetic smile, looking directly at the seemingly kind waitress in an effort to avoid meeting the healer's gaze, again.

Luna's eyes narrowed to slits as she noticed the deceptive attitude of the two-faced waitress.

"Water? Nonsense, this is your first day back. We should celebrate the proper way. We'll both have your best and strongest Firewhiskey," protested Luna, forcing her voice to sound light and buoyant, even though her mood was quickly darkening.

Apprehension flickered in Hermione's gaze, and her smile faded when she heard Luna's objection. Calculating violet eyes noticed the shift in her fatigued face.

"My love," interrupted Edric, addressing his girlfriend in a slightly condescending voice. Dark blue eyes looked over at him in concern. "It's a bit too early for alcohol," he chastised.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right, "she agreed with a small hint of displeasure evident in her frown.

He chuckled, a pleasing sound that sent delicious shivers down her spine. "Aren't I always right?" he teased with a smirk.

It made her genuinely smile and mirth return into her glittering eyes, just as he hoped it would. It also made the eavesdropping waitress giggle.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," apologized the tall waitress with a suggestive smile directed at Edric.

Luna's turbulent eyes glared at her for a moment. Edric, on the other hand, completely dismissed the flirtatious attempt and merely accepted the insincere apology with a slight nod.

Meaningless flirtation tactics never affected him, but he always kept a wary eye on his volatile and jealous partner. Unlike him, she had a strong tendency of being affected by simple gestures.

Irritated once again at the lack of respect, Luna slightly opened her perfectly painted lips to deliver a scathing retort to the waitress, but a sharp look directed at her by Edric made her promptly close her mouth, and ultimately remain silent.

Her boyfriend had told her multiple times to keep her temper restrained because he reassured her that he only loved her, but she couldn't help the jealousy that engulfed her whenever questionable women shamelessly threw themselves at him. Tearing her gaze away, she heaved an exasperated sigh and began thinking about serene snow, icy water, and other arctic images in hopes of cooling down.

An unsuspected, yet pleasant pressure on her lips made her eyes slightly widen.

"You're the only witch I'll ever love," said Edric. She blushed, and he lightly grazed her cheek before pulling away.

He was right, Luna thought with a sudden feeling of happiness. In the end Edric was hers, and she was his.

Edric paused to gauge her reaction, but when he noticed the threat of overwhelming anger dissolve from her eyes, he grinned at his girlfriend's accomplishment.

"Don't worry, we'll celebrate, and drink later on. I heard this place has a fantastic nightclub," said Luna to Hermione with a wink.

Hermione forced a smile at her friend's enthusiasm, while she mentally thanked the wizard for his timely intervention.

As they were ordering their entrées, Edric decidedly concluded that his girlfriend was completely unaware of her friend's condition. Although, he couldn't truly blame her. If it weren't for the fact that he had briefly seen through Hermione's elaborate glamour spell, and was an observant individual that was attentive to detail, he would have never suspected the small witch to be with child.

Once the displeased waitress retreated with all of their orders, Luna began talking to fill in the awkward silence. She went on about the success of her shop that sold potions for health ailments, until Hermione abruptly excused herself to go to the ladies' room.

Concerned eyes gazed at the retreating form disappearing into the general direction of the restrooms. Luna hadn't seen Hermione in months ever since the death of her muggle grandmother caused her to abruptly leave.

She was glad that her shy friend had finally decided to come back to visit her, but she felt terrible for not being able to cheer her up. Luna had tried distracting the petite brunette by taking her shopping, and dolling her up, yet nothing seemed to lessen the sadness that clung to her.

"Is something amiss?" asked her boyfriend in a concerned voice as he saw that her pretty face, for once, was filled with worry.

"No," she lied, looking down. He lightly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him as he searched her eyes.

"Luna, do not lie to me. You can tell me," he whispered.

His husky voice clouded her judgment and made her feel lightheaded. "Hermione has me worried," she admitted, despite her efforts to keep her thoughts to herself.

He slowly released her chin.

"Why does she have you worried?" he inquired, reaching out and lightly squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"Do you remember how I told you that her muggle grandmother passed away nearly five months ago? she asked.

He nodded in affirmation.

"Nothing I do seems to cheer her up. I know she's trying to put on a happy facade for my sake, but I see right through it. I just want her to enjoy her weekend here at the resort," she explained.

"She's only staying for the weekend?" asked Edric in an uneasy voice. He couldn't risk her disappearing again when Draco's health depended on her, and vice versa. If they didn't come in physical contact soon, they could possibly die. All three of them.

"Yes," she confirmed in a defeated voice.

"Is she staying with you?" he asked in a curious voice.

Luna arched her eyebrow. "Why?" she asked.

Edric shook his head at her suspicion, and discreetly put his hand on her thigh. "Well, if I'm going back to your room..." he began.

"Edric! We're in public," she murmured as a blush stained her cheeks.

His hand kept moving upwards under the table.

She gave him a sharp look as he gave her an innocent smile. Edric was quite attractive. Tall, well-spoken, and professional, but he had a side to him that only a few knew about, a side that Luna absolutely loved.

"Tell me," he seductively whispered into her ear.

Feeling incredibly bold, she gave him a sly smile, and returned in a voice that didn't seem to belong to her, "She's staying in a different suite than mine."

Edric's eyes widened at her brazen remark, and then they quickly darkened with desire.

"In that case, we'll finish this tonight," he said as he removed his hand from her body.

"Maybe," Luna said firmly.

"Why maybe?" demanded the freckled wizard.

She laughed softly at his impatient tone. "Because I'm going out for drinks at the nightclub with Hermione," she responded.

"Oh? Is this a girl's only night or what?" he questioned.

"Yes... Actually, I have a better plan," she said as she gave him a look that he was very familiar with.

"I know that look. It means you have something up your sleeve," replied Edric in a cautious voice.

"Yes, I do, and I'm going to need your help," she confirmed with a wicked smile.

**. . .**

Draco Malfoy muttered a curse as he paused in front of the intricately carved wooden door. The nagging pain that had finally led him to track down his healer had greatly decreased once he had apparated to his current location, and now he felt rather foolish entering his most lavish restaurant without a clear reason.

He wanted to leave, but there was something beckoning him to enter. He decided that going inside to finally meet Edric's girlfriend wouldn't hurt.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N: Hello everyone! Okay, ****so this chapter is a little longer than the others because I feel that I haven't been udpating that much recently. I really hope you enjoy it! And thank you for the sweet, and thoughtful reviews/feedback. Tell me what you think! Reviews are always appreciated. No, seriously, I think I'm obsessed with reviews. Haha, just kidding, but not really. Caitlin, I think you're going to like this one.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

Draco felt a hand grip his arm, halting him from entering the restaurant. "Draco Malfoy?" asked a feminine voice. He turned around, wincing slightly as a strong perfume assaulted his sensitive nose.

"Yes, I am Draco Malfoy," he confirmed as his gaze settled on a portly woman that strongly resembled a hawk with her hooked nose, and long burgundy-tipped nails.

He raised a contemptuous eyebrow at her offending hand.

The unknown woman quickly retracted her hand from his pristine long-sleeved dress shirt.

"I'm Samantha from Potestas Magazine," said the witch with a smile as she nervously stuck out her hand in a greeting gesture.

Draco took in the woman's business attire, released a small annoyed sigh, and merely ignored her extended hand. Great, now he had to deal with a bloody journalist.

Tilting her head slightly to look into his pale grey eyes, Samantha noticed that they were just as mesmerizing as his voice.

Barely suppressing his annoyance at being so rudely interrupted from figuring out what was beckoning to him; Draco addressed her in a semi pleasant tone.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, enunciating each word with extreme care, despite his irritation, he couldn't risk anyone writing any slanderous articles about him. He had an image to maintain.

The spellbound journalist completely disregarded his words, and unconsciously took a step towards him. Her gaze slowly traveled down his powerful frame, taking in his trademark silvery blond hair, and the lean muscles barely hidden underneath the thin silk dress shirt he wore. She also noticed the way his trousers hugged his lower body.

She was visualizing what he looked like without his expensive clothing, and almost jumped when, without prior warning, he asked a question that made her blush.

"Are you quite done admiring my anatomy?" asked the grey-eyed wizard as he took a small step back, making her aware of exactly how close she was to him.

Samantha let out a nervous laugh when she finally realized she most likely looked like a complete idiot with her hand still jutting outward and her mouth slightly ajar. She cleared her dry throat to compose herself and noticed that the tall wizard's eyes only narrowed in response.

"I have some questions I'd like to ask about your reformed outlook on blood purity, and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to answer them...?" she asked with a furious blush creeping down from her face to her neck.

His icy gaze flickered to her face. "Alright," he reluctantly agreed.

"There's a cafe close to the Junior Suites, it's much more tranquil," he added. Draco knew that he had to play nice to trick the media into believing that he was now a reformed blood supremacist. If weren't for the fact that not enough pure-bloods were alive to keep his businesses going, he wouldn't have bothered to create and uphold such an unpleasant pretense.

A couple minutes later, Samantha still couldn't believe she was drinking coffee with Draco Malfoy, one of the most influential and wealthiest wizards in the world.

**. . .**

After Luna and Edric finished having a small diatribe, they lapsed into silence, which Edric seemed oddly glad to maintain. Luna Lovegood, on the other hand, was coming up with ways to convince him to agree to her request. She was determined to persuade her boyfriend even if it meant resorting to her sex appeal.

"Fine, don't get a date for her, then," she said with a knowing smile before she resumed drinking her iced tea.

Edric was on his guard as soon as the suspicious smile hit her perfect lips. What was she up to now? He wondered as she leaned forward, giving him an unhampered view of her generous cleavage.

"I told you, I don't think it's a good idea to set her up with someone without her being aware of it," he replied in an uneasy voice.

Luna internally wondered why Edric appeared to be acting so strangely, but on the outside she went along with her plan.

"I completely understand that it would be far too... _hard_... for you to get one of your friends to agree," she teased in a breathless voice.

Edric made the mistake of raising his gaze from her ample chest to her eyes. Under the crystal chandeliers, her eyes were a clear ultramarine color, and they glittered with promises of seduction.

His reaction was instant as desire poured through him, hot and powerful. He tried to reply to her with a logical comment, but he found it exceedingly difficult to form proper sentences as her gaze lowered to his crotch.

"Is there something you'd like to say?" she asked in a low voice.

She was doing it again, Edric thought, frowning. She was using her sex appeal to coerce him, but he wouldn't give in. He couldn't. If Draco found out that he set her up with another wizard there would be hell to pay.

"No," he said as his eyes hardened along with other parts of his anatomy.

The blonde was about to reply, but the irritating waitress returned with their food. As the waitress began putting their food in the appropriate places and slightly flirting with an unyielding Edric, it finally dawned on her that Hermione had been gone for almost twenty minutes.

She had been so caught up in trying to secure a date for her friend, that she never noticed her extended absence. Briefly glancing at him, Luna idly wondered why her boyfriend hadn't commented on her absence.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that Hermione has been gone for so long?" she asked.

Edric noticed the worried tone of her voice. He wasn't overly worried because he knew that the petite brunette was most likely experiencing morning sickness.

"I'm sure she's fine," he muttered with an awkward shrug.

Luna looked at him with questioning eyes as he proceeded to eat his meal. Could it be that he was uncomfortable because her best friend wasn't a pure-blood?

"Is it because she's a muggle-born? She inquired in a soft voice.

Caught off guard, Edric made a face at eating something particularly hot that most likely burned his esophagus, and asked, "What?"

Luna mistakenly assumed that he had made a face at the word she had used to describe her friend.

She sighed, pinned him with a glare, and said, "You've been acting very strangely around Hermione and whenever I say something about her you get this weird look in your eyes. You said that you didn't care about blood purity, yet you gawk at her as if she were abnormal."

"It's not that," he replied as he looked away from her scrutinizing gaze. He hated having to keep things from her.

"Yes, it is. You're just like every other pure-blood in your family. You pretend to accept muggle-borns, but you secretly hate them, don't you?" she asked in a poisonous whisper.

He shook his head in denial, but she only kept going on with her tirade, "Why are you dating me, then? You know that I don't support pure-blood supremacist views. Unlike you, I don't believe in looking down on witches with mixed ancestry."

Edric's eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously. How dare she? He was a firm believer in equality among witches and wizards, regardless of their ancestry, yet his own girlfriend assumed that he was just like his relatives. It wasn't his fault that most of them still held onto old beliefs of blood.

"No, I'm not. You're being ridiculous. What is it with you?" he demanded.

"What do you mean?" she managed, despite the anger raging inside of her.

"You always find it necessary to assume the worst about me. I support everything you do, yet you always have to question my actions. Somehow you delude yourself into thinking that I'm some kind of monster. What have I done to deserve your constant suspicion? I've tried countless times to convince you that my intentions with you are sincere. You always use the smallest and most irrelevant excuses to push me away. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm really getting tired of your childish behavior," he angrily replied.

Luna blinked with a stunned expression. The anger burning inside her quickly disintegrated leaving only ashes of embarrassment and guilt behind. He was right; she could see the earnestness in his violet eyes.

She wanted to apologize for her brash outburst, but a lump in her throat wouldn't allow it, she instead mutely sat there, trying very hard to reign in the hot tears threatening to fall.

Edric simply waited for her response, allowing the tension-filled silence to stretch between them. He was rigid, his body radiating anger next to hers. He tried occupying his troubled mind by sipping on the wine that the usually talkative waitress had quietly poured him, even she had the sense to be wary.

Luna noticed the way his long, strong fingers harshly gripped the wine glass with much more force than necessary.

Her boyfriend exuded strength, yet he was always gentle with her. Whenever they kissed, and she began feeling uncomfortable he would immediately stop. Every time she had a nightmare, he was there to console her.

Edric was always gallant, so why couldn't she trust him?

The distant memory of hazel eyes and light brown hair answered her unspoken question. The horrifying memory also caused her to abruptly rise from her seat and excuse herself to go check on Hermione. As she made her way to the ladies' room, she wiped at the burning tears decorating her cheeks. After what Theo did to her, it was difficult to trust a wizard, even one that showered her with affection.

Edric stilled for a moment at his girlfriend's sudden departure. He wanted to go after her, but he also didn't want to distress her any further. Instead of seeking her out, he coolly signaled his waitress and asked her to bring him some of the strongest Firewhiskey they had.

Once Luna made it to the ladies' room, she looked at the locked bathroom door, and called out to her friend. "Hermione, you've been in there for quite some time. Are you okay?" she asked in a watery voice.

Wiping at her mouth, Hermione gripped the toilet with both hands as she expected another wave of nausea to hit her.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'll be out soon," she responded in a reassuring voice as she flushed the vomit-filled toilet. Mysteriously enough, her nausea had considerably decreased for some unknown reason.

She distractedly wondered why she was no longer throwing up, since she usually threw up more than this.

"Alright, I'll wait for you," said Luna in a muffled voice. She wanted to fix her makeup in the bathroom, before she confronted Edric again. She didn't want him to know that she had cried.

When she finally stood up on unsteady feet, Hermione started to wash her hands in the lavish sink, but quickly froze as her body became consumed by a sudden feeling of pain. The pain rapidly intensified to such a degree that she found it necessary to bite down on one of her hands in order to restrain the screams threatening to rip out of her throat.

After the agonizing sensation faded, she was only left with a headache, and a faint coppery taste in her mouth. The confused brunette then began rising out her mouth, and simply stared at the descending water laced with blue as it went down the drain. Looking up into the mirror, her head throbbing, she was shocked to see that the dark circles under her eyes were much more prominent than before.

Tearing her gaze away from the mirror to assess her hand, her breath caught in her throat and her heart began to painfully beat within her chest when she noticed the two pinpricks on it. Tentatively, raising her trembling fingertips to her mouth, she nearly fainted when she felt two sharp, and elongated upper canine teeth adorning the interior of her mouth.

Luna sighed, nervously running her manicured hand through her hair as she calmly waited for Hermione, even as her stomach protested in hunger. The usually impatient witch was mentally coming up with possible scenarios to apologize to Edric, when the door flew open, and Hermione emerged.

"Luna, are you okay?" asked Hermione with a slight lisp, when she noticed her ruined makeup and miserable expression.

"I'm fine. It's just allergies," she lamely replied as she hurriedly went into the bathroom to fix her makeup in the mirror with her wand.

"Oh… I see. Listen, I know that you were really looking forward to this lunch, but I'm not feeling well. I think it's because I'm not used to apparating so much anymore. You wouldn't mind if I left early, would you?" asked Hermione in a hopeful voice with an even stronger lisp. She was expecting Luna to protest, but was shocked when she didn't.

"I understand, but we're still on for tonight, right?" asked Luna with a small, sad smile.

Hermione felt bad for leaving lunch so early that she did something she instantly regretted. She wordlessly agreed by nodding her head in affirmation.

**. . .**

Draco was attempting to finish answering the journalist's stupid questions, despite the unusual pain searing through him, when a slight discomfort in his mouth caused him to stop talking in mid-sentence. He used his tongue to feel his perfect straight teeth, and let out a surprised curse as his tongue was sliced.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you alright?" asked Samantha. The wizard felt the coppery taste of his own blood, before covering the tangy taste with a sip of his black coffee.

"Yes, but I must take my leave," he replied after a few moments with a slight lisp. He rose; silently paid for both of their coffees plus the two muffins he had picked out earlier, and left the perplexed journalist without sparing her a second thought.

Emerging from the nearly empty cafe, Draco shrank the paper bag, and began making his way to his most luxurious restaurant. He was trying to convince himself that the so called fangs he had felt mere seconds ago were most likely caused by the minimal amount of sleep he had been acquiring in the last few months.

Yes, it made perfect sense. He was starting to hallucinate, not actually grow fangs. Shaking his head in disbelief, he felt his smooth, straight teeth with his fingertips again for the third time, and let out a sigh of relief.

He would take being delusional over growing fangs any day. A small rarely seen smile spread across his lips, until a multitude of photographers began taking his picture, and completely eradicated any evidence of it ever existing. Nearly

blinded by the bright lights, he determinedly made his way to the restaurant when an alluring scent hit his nose, a scent that made his imaginary fangs fill his mouth once again for a whole minute before disappearing.

**. . .**

Hermione was making her way from the restaurant to the Junior Suites, when she noticed that an unfortunate celebrity was being photographed to death. She couldn't see much because of the blinding whitish lights, but she assumed it was someone considerably famous since the other celebrities that filled the extravagant resort were being completely ignored.

Curiosity got the best of her and she stood up on her tippy toes attempting to catch a glimpse of who it was, when she collided with a large woman that strongly resembled a hawk. Hermione stumbled back, but the woman gripped her forearm to stop her from falling. Pain shot up through her arm, yet she ignored it as she apologized to a large woman for her clumsiness.

"I'm sorry," said Hermione with a tentative smile as she finished smoothing out her rumpled red dress.

The woman only scowled at her, and walked away muttering something about attractive men, chocolate muffins, and bitter coffee.

Hermione's brows furrowed in confusion at the women's bizarre rant as she went into the elevator, but she then fixed her gaze on the small beads of blue blood emerging from the deep nail marks on her forearm.

Before anyone could speculate, she quickly used a curative spell to heal them, just as she had previously done to mend her hand in the restaurant's restroom.

She was still mystified as to why her teeth had felt so strange back in the restaurant, and why her hand, for a moment, appeared to have such odd marks on it. Maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her? It was the only valid explanation she could come up with. After all, she hadn't been sleeping much lately.

**. . .**

As Draco's vision cleared, he momentarily stopped to look into the direction of the Junior Suite elevators, allowing his silver grey eyes to locate the source of the sweet and intoxicating aroma, but all he managed was to catch a glimpse of red, before the photographers blinded him once again.

He sighed as he began addressing, and answering the erratic questions thrown at him. It was hectic times like these, which made him momentarily hate being so damn wealthy.

**. . .**

Edric was starting to feel a little intoxicated as he asked for yet another glass of Firewhiskey. He was surveying the famous faces of the witches and wizards in the room, when he noticed Luna emerge from the restrooms, and slowly make her way into his line of vision.

He felt his body stir in response as he noticed the way her dress clung to her feminine body. He let out an exasperated sigh.

Why did he even bother? All she did was tease, and leave him sexually frustrated. There were countless women he didn't want that would love to sleep with him. However, the only girl he wanted and loved didn't want to sleep with him, and she also didn't love him back. He chuckled at his ironic thought process.

As Luna finally sat down, he could finally see the faint traces of tears on her face.

"You cried," he said, looking at her slightly red eyes.

"You drank," she retorted, staring at the three empty glasses next to his plate.

"What an astute observation," replied Edric in a sarcastic voice.

Luna inadvertently dropped her sad dark blue eyes to her untouched food. Her hunger no longer mattered. She didn't know how to reply to his snide comment. In fact, she didn't even know if it required a response.

"Where's your friend?" Edric questioned, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hermione had to leave. She wasn't feeling well," explained Luna in a gentle voice.

"Lucky her," he said before stifling a yawn. He was starting to get drowsy from his meal and consumption of alcohol.

"Stop it," pleaded Luna.

Edric simply leaned back into his chair with his dark eyebrows raised, "Stop what, exactly?" he demanded.

She frowned and whispered, "Stop being angry at me."

He scoffed.

"I think I have every right to be angry with you," he declared, even as his violet eyes noticeably softened at seeing the hurt so clearly displayed in her eyes and in her voice.

The tall waitress chose that very moment to intervene. "Mr. Vestvik, here's your drink," she said in saucy voice as leaned in a lot closer than necessary to put down his drink.

"Thank you," said Edric in an automatic voice.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" asked the waitress with a glare directed at his distraught girlfriend.

The healer looked thoughtful before giving her a wolfish smile, and replied, "Yes."

"What can I get for you?" questioned the waitress in a sultry voice.

"Your name," he answered, looking directly at Luna.

Feeling the stab of jealousy, despite her sadness, at seeing him openly flirt with the waitress, Luna was about to get up and leave, but Edric's hand discreetly latched onto hers under the table. She tried to snatch her hand away, but his long fingers intertwined with her smaller ones.

She gave him a curious look as he held her trembling hand in his stronger one.

He ignored her, and continued chatting with the waitress.

"Carol," said the tall witch with a wink.

"Carol? Well, Carol I would love it if you stopped flirting with me, and treated my girlfriend with more respect. I'm sure you're aware that if I complained about your terrible attitude, you would undoubtedly be replaced," he said in a dark voice that gave Luna chills.

The waitress blanched.

"Now tell me, is there something you'd like to say to my beautiful girlfriend?" he asked

Too shocked to respond, the waitress merely stared at him with incredulous eyes.

"Well? Come one, get on with it. Apologize and do it quickly before I change my mind and decide to have a chat with your manager," urged Edric in an exasperated voice.

The once rude waitress gave Luna a very heartfelt apology, which she modestly accepted with a slight nod.

After dismissing the waitress, Edric resumed drinking his Firewhiskey with her hand still in his grasp.

"I love you," she blurted in a shy voice.

Turning his bewildered eyes towards his girlfriend, he asked, "What did you just say?"

Never before had she told him that. He always told her he loved her, but she never returned the gesture. Not even when he took her out on romantic dates, yet, here he was drunk and frustrated hearing her declare her love for him for the first time.

"I said I love you," she repeated, in a firm voice as she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

He removed his hand from her grasp.

Luna wrongly interpreted his gesture, and cleared her throat at the painful rejection. She turned away from him and stood up, determined to leave with at least some dignity intact.

Edric also stood, and whirled her around so she could face him.

"You're impossible," he said in a teasing voice, and reached out to grab her small face in between both of his hands.

"No, I'm not," she denied in a hesitant voice as she carefully looked up at him, searching his features.

He lightly chuckled as he bent his head down.

"Yes, you are," he corrected in a tender whisper, right before they shared a kiss so passionate that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to openly gape at them, including the usually stoic pianist.

**. . .**

Incredibly aggravated, Draco finally caught sight of the restaurant after ten complete minutes of torture at the hands of reporters. He hurried his steps in order to avoid other hidden paparazzi, and nearly collided with Edric.

"Hey, I know you," said Edric in a slurred voice. The effects of him consuming strong alcohol were finally making their presence known in his speech and coordination.

"Edric," addressed Draco in authoritative voice, after regaining his balance. He could smell the alcohol clinging to the freckled wizard's breath. He inwardly cursed.

His healer wouldn't be useful to him in such an inebriated state.

"Come on, Edric, we're almost to my suite," said a witch with dark blonde hair, and a fair face. She was tugging the drunken healer in the direction of the Junior Suites.

He examined her face. Something about her seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had previously seen her.

"Do you need some help?" he asked, seeing her struggle with Edric.

Luna finally looked at the man that her boyfriend was blankly staring at.

Dark blue eyes locked with his grey ones. The witch gave him a broad smile.

"You're Draco Malfoy," she said in an excited voice. Luna knew all about the wealthy and attractive celebrity. Even though they had gone to the same school, she had never spoken to him, however, she knew that he now supported equality for muggle-borns, and that he donated a lot of money to charities. In fact, she had various magazines that contained articles and interviews about him.

"I am, and you are?" he inquired.

"That's my girlfriend. You can't have her," interrupted Edric before he clumsily placed a possessive arm around the witch's small shoulders, and began to sway.

Draco, against his better judgment laughed at the healer's uncharacteristic behavior. He couldn't help it, Edric always seemed so professional, yet he was behaving worse than a child.

"Luna Lovegood. We went to the same school," said the blonde with a small blush.

The amused wizard finally recalled seeing the girl around school.

"Are you really his girlfriend?" he asked in a guarded voice.

Luna gave a soft laugh. "Yes," confirmed the witch with a small smile.

"Edric is a good friend of mine, so I was only making sure that he wasn't being abducted or anything," said Draco with a charming smile.

"You're his friend?" she asked in an interested voice.

He simply nodded his head as he noticed the way she struggled to keep Edric upright. He knew she wouldn't be able to carry the intoxicated wizard any further without some assistance.

"Here, let me help you with him," he offered as they both began dragging a very grouchy Edric to her room.

Twenty minutes, later Draco found himself walking away from Luna's suite completely exhausted and baffled.

Why had he accepted to go on a blind date with Luna's unknown friend?

Luna had assured him that her friend was pretty, but that's what they all said. For all he knew the girl might be ugly or even worse... a mudblood.

**. . .**

Hermione stirred, and squeezed her eyes shut as a noise kept interrupting her sleep. She had finally gotten some severely needed sleep, yet a constant knocking was making it impossible to her to continue with her rest.

She finally woke up, grabbed her wand to cast the glamour spell she regularly wore, and finally went outside of the elaborate bedroom to open the main door of the suite.

Next thing she knew, a very ecstatic Luna was in her bedroom, rummaging through her closet. She mentally berated herself for giving the extroverted blonde the number of her suite.

"What are you doing?" she groggily asked, sitting on the edge of the comfortable bed.

"I'm looking for that black dress I bought you," casually answered Luna, as if going through her clothes without asking for permission was perfectly normal.

Why did she need her black dress? Hermione suddenly recalled agreeing to go out for drinks. She groaned and sank back into the bed.

"I don't want to go," she protested, placing a pillow over her head to hide from Luna.

"That's too bad. You're going. Who knows? You might even meet someone handsome," said Luna in an innocent voice.

If Hermione weren't so tired, she would have noticed the underlying mischievous tone of Luna's voice, but instead, she wordlessly got up, and plucked the black dress from the other smaller closet.

"Hurry up," called out Luna in a cheery voice as Hermione went to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

**. . .**

After Draco left him with strict instructions to look over Blaise and make sure that he took his medication, Theo walked into the kitchen of the Malfoy Manor with an intense hunger. The kitchen was spotless since the house-elves always made sure that everything in the Manor was immaculate. He was about to ask a house-elf to prepare him something to eat, when he heard Blaise scream.

Completely forgetting about food, he ran with his heart hammering in fear, in the direction of the room in which Blaise was sleeping. He gasped for air, feeling his lungs burn, and sweat decorate his face as he came to an abrupt halt inside the spacious room.

"What is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked as soon as he caught his breath. His hazel eyes wildly searched around the room, but they failed to see any imminent danger.

"No, I'm not okay. Look at this," responded Blaise, throwing a paper bag at Theo.

Theo cautiously opened the bag, expecting to see dismembered fingers or something equally disturbing, but all he saw were two chocolate muffins.

"What the hell, Blaise? I just ran as fast as I could, so you could show me some muffins," he bit out, annoyed.

Blaise crossed his arms in a childish manner. "You could have used magic, and excuse me, but did you at least pay close attention to the muffins? Draco knows that I only eat chocolate muffins that have white chocolate chips on top of them, and those muffins sure as hell don't have any," he replied.

"He probably forgot, he's been busy and somewhat tired lately," explained Theo. Although he was angry at his friend's behavior, he was also relieved to see that his twisted sense of humor had returned.

"Oh... where is he?" asked Blaise in a serious voice. Even though, he had been sick lately, he had also noticed how weary Draco appeared lately.

"He didn't say where he was going. He only told me to look after you," said Theo.

"I see. By the way, did the healer that treated me mention anything unusual?" inquired Blaise. He had intended to ask the healer what the strange orange spot on his chest was, but he never got a chance to speak to the yet unnamed healer.

Theo shook his head, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Luna's idiotic boyfriend.

"What's his name?" questioned the oblivious wizard.

"He must be fairly talented because I actually feel better," he quickly added.

Theo grit his teeth and took a calming breath. He really didn't like the healer that cured his friend, but he was still thankful that the freckled healer had saved his friend's life.

"Well?" pressed the blue-eyed wizard, stretching his stiff arms.

Theo turned to face him. Blaise looked intrigued and his gaze was narrowed and fixed directly on him. He hated when Blaise did that because it almost felt as if he could see right through him.

"Blaise," Theo replied with a tired sigh, "Why do you want to know?"

"I just want to thank him," said Blaise. In reality, he had a few questions he wanted to ask his mysterious healer, but he also did want to thank him.

"Healers don't have to be thanked. It's their job to heal people," explained Theo. His voice was icy and his features were hard.

"I still want to thank him," Blaise said stubbornly, crossing his thin arms over his chest.

It didn't escape Theo's notice that his arms were incredibly small compared to how they usually looked. Hopefully he would gain weight soon. Seeing Blaise look so thin made him feel uneasy.

What if he suddenly relapsed? He visibly shuddered at the thought.

He finally relented and said, "His name is Edric. Edric Fitzgerald."

**. . .**

It was hot, chaotic, and crowded. Pushing through the dancing bodies, Draco swore under his breath as he made his way to the bar of his exclusive nightclub.

Luna had told him that his date would be at the bar, yet weirdly enough, only a scarce amount of women at the bar had wavy brown hair, and none of them were wearing black. The few brunettes that were at the bar were wearing brightly colored clothing. He mentally shook his head.

Why was he doing this?

He ordered some vodka, while he looked around the bar once again. If he didn't find his mystery girl soon, he'd leave.

**. . .**

Hermione made her way to the crowded bar. Where was Luna? The animated blonde had left her suite, promising to meet her at the bar, but Hermione couldn't find her anywhere.

"Hey, what would you like?" asked a large bartender over the roaring music, without looking at her.

"Water," responded Hermione, trying to look over his large body. There was something on the other side of the bar that was beckoning to her.

The bald bartender raised his eyes from the drink he was mixing in front of her, and gave her an unbelieving look, but his shocked eyes quickly lit up with desire as he took in the petite witch's slender body, and pretty face.

"Sorry, we're not allowed to serve water, but I can give you something else that I'm sure you'd like," replied the beefy man.

"Is it non-alcoholic?" asked the curious witch.

The bartender gave a small laugh and said, "It sure is."

Hermione smiled in gratitude.

**. . .**

Draco felt an odd sensation as he looked across the bar. Something across the bar was demanding his attention. Whatever was calling to him was being blocked by a fucking fat bartender.

He let out a sigh, he wasn't going to go all the way to other side because of a stupid feeling, and instead he kept drinking. A couple of drinks later, he sighed once more in frustration as he began moving through the swaying bodies yet again. He needed some coffee to wash the bitter taste of alcohol from his mouth.

**. . .**

Indignation poured through Hermione as the bartender's crude suggestion that she meet him for a so called 'blowjob' continued to ring in her ears. She had slapped him so hard, that her hand was still throbbing as she made her way to the 24-hour cafe close to her suite.

She got in line a to order a chamomile tea to help her sleep, while her mind wandered away from the rude bartender, and tried to come up with plausible explanations for the odd sensation she had felt in the nightclub.

Standing in line, waiting for his turn, Theo mentally tortured Blaise at least five times. The immature wizard had outright refused to take his medicine, until Theo reluctantly agreed to go out and buy him chocolate muffins with white chocolate chips on top. Once he finished ordering the damn muffins, he had mentally tortured Blaise about twenty more times.

"Is there something else you'd like today, sir? asked the cashier with a pleasant smile. Theo glared at her. "No, I just want my muffins, and that's it," he replied in an infuriated voice. He accepted the paper bag, and stoically began to walk away from the 24-hour cafe.

Hermione had just finished sweetening her tea, and paused for a moment to carefully sip it to see if she should return to the preparation station to add more sugar. She closed her eyes to savor the taste, when she ran into something hard.

She yelped as hot tea splattered all over her black dress.

Theo bit out a curse as he felt the burning liquid splattering onto his torso.

"I'm very, very sorry. I seem to be making a new habit of colliding with people," Hermione said in a hasty voice as she quickly used a cooling spell on them both.

Theo, being the hot-blooded male he was, momentarily stared at the witch's body. Her wet dress perfectly outlined her somewhat small, yet perfectly rounded breasts. He finally looked at her face.

"Granger?" he questioned, his voice full of disbelief.

"Yes," she replied in a nervous voice as she quickly looked around expecting his infamous friends to appear.

"I'm Theodore Nott. We went to the same school," he replied with a slight smile.

"I know who you are," she said with a polite smile.

"Here, let me buy you some of that scorching hot liquid you were carrying," he teased as he picked up the cup from the ground and threw it in the nearest trash can. He also cleaned the mess off the floor with his wand.

The nervous witch laughed, in spite of her apprehension.

"No, it's fine," Hermione kindly declined. She didn't want to risk seeing her tormentor.

"I insist," he replied with a smile.

"Alright," she finally accepted, casting anxious glances around the cafe.

They had a small and pleasant talk, until he excused himself. Hermione realized as she made her way back to her suite that he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be. She actually enjoyed their brief conversation. In a way, she hoped to see him again.

**. . .**

Draco was heading in the direction of the only open cafe, when he froze. There, in front of him, was the filthy little mudblood heading in the direction of the Junior Suites.

He smirked, and slowly turned around to make his way to the front desk of his resort. He'd find out which suite she was occupying because he needed to teach her a lesson on obedience.

**. . .**

Hermione went into her bathroom, as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, her cheeks turned a bright pink. Her breasts were completely outlined! She was completely mortified as she realized that Theodore Nott had probably noticed.

After she peeled off the sticky dress, and put on a white bathrobe, she filled up the tub. Once she removed her glamour spell, she placed her wand next to the sink.

Going over to the tub, she slightly bent down to run her fingers along the warm water. Slowly straightening up, she began removing her white bathrobe when she heard a noise behind her.

Alarmed, she turned around only to see Draco Malfoy. He was arrogantly leaning against the open bathroom door with his strong arms crossed, his powerful frame covering the doorway, and preventing her from escaping.

Draco gave a sadistic smirk at seeing the fear so clearly written on her face.

"Did you miss me, Mudblood?" he asked with a sneer.

Hermione tried to run towards her wand, but in one fluid motion, Draco wrapped his left arm around her abdomen, effectively stopping her from reaching it.

As soon as he felt it, Draco stiffened, and looked down in horror at her swollen stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. **

******Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.******

**A/N**: **My deepest apologies for the lack of length of this chapter! I know that it is rather short, but lately I've** **been feeling ultra lazy, haha. [O, I tried updating sooner than last time like you kindly requested, but I think I kind of failed.] There's just something about Caitlin, the sun, and the absurd heat of our town that triggers my laziness. I'll try to make my next chapter longer. Thank you everyone for giving my story a chance. My dear reviewers, thank you so much for being such fantastic supporters! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'd love to read your thoughts! REVIEW! Oh, and who do you think Luna should end up with? [Lily, I'm glad you're back and sober, haha.]**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

He could feel the struggle of her very small frame writhing against his masculine body as his mind became absorbed with discordant emotions and thoughts. He took a couple of calming breaths that did absolutely nothing to alleviate the extreme anger, jealousy, and sadness raging inside him.

Why did he even care that she was pregnant with another man's child?

Shaking his head in disgust at his strange inner turmoil, Draco forcefully turned her around to face him. He roughly tilted her chin upwards, and pulled her closer to his strong body as he looked down into her large brown eyes that were now glistening with unshed tears. Having the knowledge that she had been with someone else made him feel disturbingly sad.

The only other time he had felt this upset was during his parents' funeral. When he felt the outline of the small protrusion underneath her white bathrobe, it made him want tear apart the man responsible for it. Who would dare touch something of his?

Because of his tall stature, he had to lean down closer to the petite witch to ask her the burning question swirling in his troubled mind.

"Who else have you been fucking lately?" he asked in a dangerous voice, while his grey eyes examined her face for any traces of dishonesty.

Hermione's heart began beating furiously. He was a lot more intimidating up close, than he was leaning against the door. She was having an increasingly difficult time breathing as his harsh words finally registered in her terrified mind.

She closed her eyes, allowing the tears to descend down her cheeks, and tried speaking, but couldn't seem to find her voice.

Her tears. Her damn tears were making his heart clench, and saddening him even further, but he ignored the strong sensation with great effort, and instead held onto his anger. It was the only emotion he was comfortable with.

As she helplessly watched his angelic face, a muscle flickered along his jaw and his glacial eyes hardened.

"Tell me," he demanded. Her silence, along with her frightened expression only served to enhance his wild, uncontrollable emotions.

Hermione entertained the idea of lying to him for her baby's safety, but she didn't want to risk him somehow finding out about the truth from another source.

Growing impatient, Draco shook her and glared at her.

"I haven't been with anyone else," she managed to say, despite the fear clogging her throat.

"Don't lie to me," he angrily replied.

No, it couldn't be his. She was definitely lying. All mudbloods were liars.

He didn't want to believe that she could be carrying his child. He had only had sex with her once, and he knew that Malfoy men had an exceptionally difficult time reproducing, since their disease often interfered with their fertility. In fact, in order to start a family, they had to begin a tedious habit of ingesting various prescribed potions at certain times for several weeks before even attempting to sire an heir.

He was also very responsible when he slept with witches, and always used a spell to eradicate even the slimmest possibility of pregnancy, but thinking back on the night that he had sex with her, he couldn't recall performing the spell. To be completely honest with himself, he didn't remember much from that encounter, except for the intense sexual gratification he derived from it.

"I'm not lying," she protested, as she unknowingly licked her dry lips, a nervous gesture reflecting her anxiety.

Draco watched in fascination as her small pink tongue darted out and moistened her lips, he tightened his grip on her even as his blood heated with need. He suddenly became aware of her body pressed against his, and the tantalizing aroma of her unique scent. Regardless of the slight mound on her abdomen that the baby occupied, she was still so small, soft, and warm. Her little ragged breaths were making it difficult for him to focus.

She started to struggle with more vigor once she felt his grip turn painful, her sensitive breasts accidentally brushing against him. To her own horror, her traitorous body began to melt in anticipation. She closed her eyes to block out the hungry look she saw in his grey eyes, yet her blood continued to turn into liquid fire.

Desire began pouring through him as he felt her body responding to his. He fought it, but the sensual feel of her feminine body was making his resistance a futile effort. He eventually released her chin, carefully lifted her pliant body, and placed her bottom on the bathroom sink.

Draco felt her thin arms wrap around his neck, and her legs open wider for him as he placed himself in between them.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open as soon as she felt his hardness pressing into her moist core. The heat radiating from him was making it very hard for her to think. She moaned, even as her mind screamed at her to run away.

Embarrassed of her reaction, she swiftly turned her head away from his penetrating gaze. Draco recaptured her small chin, demanding her attention once again. His mercury eyes visually devoured her. The predatory glint in his grey orbs, made her shiver with excitement.

Still holding her gaze captive, he then proceeded to gradually lower his silvery blond head to capture her inviting rosy lips. He gave her enough time to turn away from him, but to his complete shock, she kissed him first.

Their mouths locked with hunger, the need boiling inside of them was heightening to such an extent that it bordered on pain. His hand left her chin, and slowly slid underneath the white bathrobe to possessively cup her right breast. Sweeping aside her long wavy golden-brown hair with his other free hand, he trailed kisses down her slender throat, while gently squeezing her aching breast.

Hermione tilted her head back to give him better access; she also gripped his soft hair with her small hands in protest when he stopped kissing her neck, until he completely removed her bathrobe, and continued where he left off.

His electric touch was driving her wild. She released his fine hair and used her dainty hands to clumsily begin to undo his silk shirt. Her fingers were trembling too much to undress him. After two failed attempts, Hermione gave a tiny frustrated sigh. She needed to feel the warmth of his smooth skin.

"Take this off," she desperately whispered. Her velvet voice enticed Draco even further, and made him want to do anything she asked.

He impatiently stopped his ministrations, gave her a chaste kiss, and pulled back enough to remove his shirt. Hermione took in his sleek body, his sinewy muscles and carved abs, she then gasped when her gaze traveled even lower. The markings on his hips were starting to glow a faint red. She thought it was odd, but before she could inspect her own markings or think about anything else, he pressed his firm lips to hers, covered her body with his own, and drove any sensible thought away from her already foggy mind.

The waves of pleasure that were coursing through him, swept aside all of Draco's initial thoughts and intentions of punishing her. He felt her gently push his head down towards her neck. Once he lifted his head to stare at her exposed neck, he felt a slight disturbance in his mouth, but ignored it. He lightly touched her beating pulse with his middle finger, before putting his hand on the nape of her neck and lowering his head yet again.

The small brunette inexplicably had the bizarre urge to feel his teeth sinking into her as she felt his talented mouth moving erotically against her neck.

Draco was fascinated with the curve of her neck. As his tongue swirled on her pulse, he heard her moan, again. He inhaled sharply as he felt her small hands on his back, caressing him, and pulling him even closer to her.

She began kissing his broad shoulder, and gently bit down on it. In the back of her mind, Hermione knew she should stop, but her body didn't seem to care.

"Draco," she whispered in a throaty voice when he carefully grazed his teeth against her pulse.

The wizard momentarily froze as he heard the way his name sounded on her lips. Vague memories began to assault him. The last time she had used his name, he had ended up taking her virginity. He had to force himself with great willpower to stop. He stayed very still, trying to temper the strong desire churning in his lower belly as her hot mouth teased his bare skin.

Once he fought through the haze clouding his judgment, he suddenly released her from his hold, and put some distance in between them.

His body was begging him to take her here and now, to satisfy his hunger, but he was fighting the compelling urge. He had slept with her once, and it was a mistake that he wasn't planning on making again.

Draco swallowed when he glanced back at her. Her delectable lips were slightly parted, and her bathrobe was discarded on the tile floor, giving him a glimpse of creamy flesh before she covered herself with a towel placed on the sink.

He wanted to touch her all over. His traitorous body hardened and his fingers twitched as she removed herself with a tremulous sigh from the sink, and accidentally gave him a generous view of her slender thighs.

"Fuck," he bit out in frustration. He didn't like how easily she made him lose control over his emotions and body. He turned away from her startled gaze, ashamed of his own body's overwhelming demands. The fire still burning and clamoring inside him was making it nearly impossible for him restrain himself, despite leading a life devoted to discipline and control.

He closed his eyes, and gripped the wall towel rack with force. Hopefully, the pain that usually accompanied such an action would distract him from the tempting brunette, but to his disbelief the pain never arrived.

Hermione was shaking with self-loathing as a furious blush stained her cheeks.

What was wrong with her?

He hadn't forced her. She complied of her own free will. It frightened her that she had kissed him, and still wanted more of him. Her knees felt weak and shaky from the potent desire still rushing through her. She didn't want to think about what compelled her to throw herself at the cruel wizard. Instead, she took advantage of his slight distraction, quickly grabbed her wand, and with a trembling hand directed it at his unsuspecting back.

With great courage, she cautiously approached him, regardless of the fear in her eyes and in her unstable steps.

**. . .**

Theodore Nott finally reached the corridor filled with guest rooms, and made his way downward to Blaise's temporary room in the Malfoy Manor. He looked down at the bag in his hand, and smiled.

He was in a pleasant mood, and for some unknown reason, he couldn't seem to get Granger out of his mind.

She had changed quite a lot, so much that he had immense difficulty believing that she was the same witch he had once called ugly and shapeless. He couldn't deny that she was actually pretty now. Well, pretty for a muggle-born. He didn't see the harm in sleeping with their kind, just as long as they didn't expect marriage or some sort of commitment. As he moved his free hand to the door knob of Blaise's room, he idly wondered if he was still up for the bet they had once made in school.

Theo slowly opened the door and gingerly stepped inside. He closed the door, pulled out his wand, and kept an eye out for any of Blaise's childish pranks. He cautiously scanned the room from side to side, and then he put away his wand when he noticed that Blaise was sitting upright in the bed, wearing his reading glasses and going over various documents. Whenever Blaise wore those glasses he meant business, and he didn't joke around as he usually would.

After five minutes of awkward silence, Theo cleared his throat, since Blaise was clearly too engrossed in his research to address him.

"Just put the bag on the night stand," said Blaise in a dismissive tone, without bothering to look up from whatever it was he was reading.

"I ran into a witch from school that's why I'm late," explained Theo, as he placed the bag on the elaborate night stand next to the bed, even though Blaise hadn't commented on his late arrival. He simply gave a brief nod in acknowledgement and continued to read with a deep frown marring his features.

The effeminate wizard tried starting a conversation again, but Blaise didn't even bother responding this time. Getting slightly annoyed, he picked up a document from the bed, and began reading it aloud.

He didn't get past the first sentence before an angry Blaise snatched it from his hand, and give him a fierce scowl. "These documents are important," Blaise said in a tense voice.

"What the devil is your problem?" questioned Theo. He was beginning to worry about his friend's bizarre behavior.

The frazzled wizard heaved a sigh, exhaustion creeping into the depths of his blue eyes. "Sorry. I just feel like I'm going mad," he confessed.

Theo raised an eyebrow, and Blaise saw the question in his eyes.

"I just found out that there's a woman who is threatening to reveal Draco's past during his interview tonight. She apparently wants Draco to pay a handsome amount for her silence," clarified Blaise.

Theo was completely shocked at the revelation, his heart skipped a beat. For a moment there was an uncomfortable and eerie silence, as if the sound of all the earth had been muted.

Images of Draco's rare moments of vulnerability invaded his mind. His scars, the sad glint that occasionally shimmered in his pale eyes when he thought others weren't looking at him, and the terrible nightmares that he used to have that led him to get his own private dorm room in school. Why would anyone want to remind him of his anguish and loss?

There was a reason why Draco detested weakness, and still had an extreme hidden dislike for muggle-borns. The thought that someone wanted to publicly expose that specific reason infuriated Theo.

"How? That's bloody impossible. His grandparents made sure nobody would know. Fuck, does Drake know?" asked Theo in a bewildered voice as he ran his shaky hand through his light brown hair.

"That's what I want to know. No, I haven't told him, you know how sensitive he is about the subject. Hell, I'd be sensitive about it, too. Remember how long it took for him to tell us? My main concern is that this woman might follow through with her threat, and cause Draco to lash out on TV. As his publicist, I've worked too hard to build up his image. I can't watch it crumble because of some money whore, but to be completely frank, what I really can't stand is the thought of Draco being reminded of... well, you know," finished Blaise in a defeated voice.

"Yeah, I know. Wait, why not just pay her off? I'm sure Draco could afford it," reasoned Theo.

"Pay her off? Don't you get it? As long as this bitch has this information she can manipulate Draco to do her bidding. Paying her off doesn't mean she'll stay quiet. If any media outlet finds out about his past, he'll be devastated and I'm sure he won't bother to keep up his muggle-born loving facade," argued the blue-eyed boy.

"Does she know... everything, though? asked Theo in a quiet voice.

Blaise crumpled up the document he was reading and angrily threw it on the floor with the rest of the others he had deemed useless in his investigation.

"I don't think she knows about what was done to Draco, but she knows about the murders," he replied.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark**

**A/N: I am very, very sorry for slacking on updating for so long now. I've been busy with school, but I will make an effort to update much more often now. I am truly grateful for all of the awesome support I've been receiving. My readers are wonderful. Thank you for all the great reviews. This chapter is really short, and I know I previously stated that this chapter would surpass the length of the last one, but I just couldn't wait to update. I pinky PROMISE that my next chapter will definitely make up for them! I hope you enjoy! Review! Reviews are always welcome.**

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><p>Chapter Thirteen<p>

Luna lay staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep despite her exhaustion and the soothing warmth that Edric's sleeping body provided her with. She tried with great effort to convince herself that leaving Hermione to her own devices in the nightclub was not a bad idea, but as the night extended so did her imagination.

What if Hermione had gotten drugged by a random wizard? What if the brunette had felt unwell again without anyone trustworthy around to help her? What if she never made it back to her room safely?

Luna's wayward imagination was driving her mad. She sighed, mentally decided to go check on Hermione, and turned over to look at Edric's sleeping form. He looked so uncharacteristically disheveled, yet so handsome.

He was shirtless, and although she had seen glimpses of him without a shirt on several occasions, she couldn't help but marvel at his well-defined masculine body. Up close he was very tempting. Luna struggled against the powerful urge to run her fingers along his bare skin, but in the end she found herself lightly caressing his torso. He made a sound that suspiciously sounded like encouragement.

Embarrassed by her brazen behavior, she quickly ceased her ministrations.

"Why did you stop?" Edric questioned in a thick voice.

Luna's heart began to race, and color swept up her neck and face as she realized he had been awake the whole time.

Finally opening his eyes, Edric let his gaze settle on Luna and how adorable she looked. Her dark blue eyes, fringed by sweeping eyelashes, were wide with shock. Her rosy lips were slightly parted. She looked delectable.

Flustered, Luna tried to look come up with a witty comeback, but Edric silenced her with a hungry kiss.

As her shock subsided, Luna leaned into him, placing her arms around his neck.

He deepened the passionate kiss and shifted their bodies into a much more intimate position.

She moaned as his skillful hands sought out her soft breasts, which only drove him wilder with need.

Edric pressed his hot mouth into her slender neck, and then felt his body hardening as a response to her eagerness.

Feeling the hardness of Edric's erection pressing against her thigh created a warm sensation in Luna's lower belly. She was extremely aware of his hands now exploring and sliding over her inexperienced body.

Her body tightened in anticipation as he carefully placed his hand on the small of her back to press her aching body against his throbbing erection. His other free hand pushed the hem of her pink nightgown over her thighs, revealing her womanhood.

Luna was enjoying herself and responding to Edric in a way that she never had before, yet she stiffened and her breath caught in her throat as she felt his fingers brushing against her damp mound. Unaware of his partner's dismay, the violet-eyed wizard inserted a finger inside of her presumably welcoming wetness.

He kissed her as he placed yet another finger inside. His fingers went deep, coercing, and stretching her.

"S-stop," she protested in a quivering voice.

Too lost in the moment, Edric simply kept exploring. Never before had she let him get this far with her, he wanted to be inside, to possess her body along with her heart.

Gentle touching and shy stolen kisses used to be enough for him, but not anymore.

He craved more.

Luna closed her eyes to block out the haunting memories that suddenly clouded her mind, but it was no use. It was impossible to forget. No matter how hard she tried, angry hazel eyes and a sinister laugh, were always swirling in the back of her mind whenever she was alone with Edric.

The more Edric caressed her, the more frightened she became.

She became so frenzied in her effort to stop him that she screamed.

Edric abruptly froze and quickly withdrew his fingers from her.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" questioned the concerned wizard upon hearing her frightened scream.

He scanned her face for any traces of pain, but all he found were glistening tears.

Luna felt hot tears trailing down her feverish cheeks as fear and shame consumed her.

Fear of being hurt again, and shame because she knew Edric thought she was untouched. She could never muster the courage to confess to him what happened to her in school. She only wished that one day she could get over her fear of Theo and having sex.

"No, I just… I just can't," she murmured. She trusted Edric, but she just couldn't seem to bring herself to tell him why she was so uncomfortable with being intimate.

Edric took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and inadvertently tightened his hold on Luna. She sounded so lost, it tore at his heart.

"It's okay," he reassured in a gentle voice as he wiped the tears from her small face.

She opened her eyes and saw the obvious regret in his peculiar eyes.

"What happened to you, Luna?" questioned Edric in a soft voice.

Luna averted her gaze from his assessing eyes and bit down on her lip.

"Nothing," she replied after several moments of tension-filled silence.

"Are you sure there isn't something you want to tell me?" he pressed, unconvinced.

Luna merely nodded her head in affirmation, and then buried her burning face in the crook of his arm, not trusting herself to be able to offer more of a valid explanation without really crying as emotion clogged her throat once again.

She could feel Edric's warm breath on her. His tenderness along with his steady breathing comforted her. She had been so out of control with the desire of wanting him that she truly thought she had gotten over her fear, but she hadn't.

Edric sighed, pulled her closer to his body and ran his hand through her hair in a soothing gesture.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that something obviously traumatizing had once happened to Luna, most likely something sexual. And even if it did take one, Edric was exceedingly clever and paid very close attention to detail, enough to know that she was hiding something from him.

**. . .**

Draco Malfoy woke up, lying face down on a cold bathroom floor, with a headache that seemed to originate straight from the fiery depths of hell. He frowned as he lifted his throbbing head, unable to remember where he was. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness when it finally dawned on him that the room he was currently occupying didn't seem familiar at all.

He cleared his dry throat and gingerly sat up, trying to recall what had happened to him. Unwelcome memories quickly assaulted his cumbersome brain. He had been hit with a damn stunning spell, he quickly determined as he remembered the mudblood uttering a spell. He heard himself groan as he began to stretch his stiff limbs.

As he searched for his treasured wand, he found it next to a black dress, broken into multiple pieces.

Rage welled up inside of him at the sight.

**. . .**

"Are you sure?" questioned a tired Luna. After she had composed herself in Edric's arms, the blonde had gone down to the cafe to get some chamomile tea for herself. She was about to return to the Junior Suites to check on Hermione, but was detained by the shock she received at finding a very pale and uneasy Hermione checking out of her suite.

For the third time in less than five minutes, Hermione reassured her concerned friend that she was leaving because she had forgotten that she had invited her parents over for lunch in the muggle world, and not because Luna never met up with her due to Edric's excessive drinking. She truly hated lying to her friend, but she had to come up with a plausible excuse to leave prematurely.

"You were going to leave without telling me, though? asked Luna. She now understood that Hermione was most likely feeling distressed about almost forgetting to have lunch with her parents, but she was still upset that her friend was about to leave without informing her first.

"I was planning on leaving a quick note to be sent to your room," she replied with a sheepish smile.

Hermione wanted to leave and return to her apartment and forget about seeing Malfoy, again. She was very uncomfortable with the bizarre events that had transpired in the last couple of hours. It scared her thinking about how easily he had found her.

She desperately wanted to believe that his aversion to muggles and muggle-borns would keep him from going after her in the muggle world.

"You and those silly notes," said Luna with a soft laugh as she recalled how the timid witch had a tendency of resorting to writing explanations instead of verbally expressing them.

"Habit," replied Hermione with a tight smile as she anxiously looked around for any signs of Malfoy.

"So… did you meet anyone interesting last night?" asked Luna with a hopeful gleam in her eyes, and a small mischievous grin.

Hermione's eyes went large with anxiety, and she felt heat rush to her face as she remembered her encounter with Malfoy, but before she could reply, Luna interrupted her with a happy squeal.

"Oh! You did, didn't you? I can see it in your eyes," she said in a delighted voice as she closely inspected Hermione's pink-tinged face, smeared mascara, tousled hair, and tired expression. All things considered, she appeared to have had an exciting night that clearly left no room for sleep.

"Well, I sort of I did," answered a flustered Hermione. She had to leave soon before Malfoy woke up, she rationalized, biting her lip nervously.

"Sort of?" mocked a familiar voice behind her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Holy hell, I haven't updated in forever! I'm surprised my pants haven't burnt off. Oopsy. I don't even have a valid excuse for my extended absence. So, I'll just blame Caitlin like I always do. Yep, it's Caitlin's fault. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who has read my story! Oh, and thank you, Tomas Clair. You kind of gave me that extra push that I needed to write again. I hope you enjoy! Reviews would be lovely.**

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><p>Chapter 14<p>

Draco was furious. He hated disobedience, especially from those he considered beneath him. The mudblood had defied him for the last fucking time. She had even broken his treasured wand. Aside from his platinum necklace, it was the only other personal item of his that held some sentimental value. He clenched his fists in anger once he finally located her.

She appeared to be speaking with Edric's girlfriend.

As Draco approached the two witches, he couldn't help but smile at the mudblood's poor excuse to leave, despite the indignation fueling him.

How was she planning on having 'lunch with her parents' when they were dead?

After she left the wizarding world, he had done a background check on the mudblood and acquainted himself with her unhappy past.

He knew that her parents were deceased. Luna, on the other hand, seemed oblivious of that fact. Draco inwardly smirked at the opportunity laid out in front of him.

**. . .**

When the familiar voice reached her ears, Hermione felt a shimmer of dread. Peering behind her, she met Draco's cold gaze before quickly looking away. She suppressed the urge to run and forced herself to take a deep, calming breath, refusing to look cowed.

Glancing over Hermione's shoulder, Luna smiled when she saw Draco striding in their direction.

"Draco. It's nice to see you again," greeted Luna, trying unsuccessfully to keep the excitement she felt out of her voice. Seeing the tall wizard brightened her day considerably. She was elated to find out just how well her friend's blind date had gone.

"Luna," acknowledged Draco as he smiled back.

The smile never reached his eyes.

The wizard had placed himself uncomfortably close to Hermione. He was just standing there, emitting false charisma. She merely watched as he exchanged some words with Luna. She couldn't properly decipher the words of their conversation, but whatever Malfoy had said, had charmed Luna.

Hermione took a deep breath, determined to rescue Luna from whatever spell Malfoy was putting her under.

"Luna, I'm going to have to get going," she announced, her voice surprisingly firm. She stepped away from Malfoy's warmth and suddenly felt cold and bereft.

Dark blue eyes snapped to her face.

"Oh, of course," said Luna with a sheepish smile. She was so wrapped up in her conversation with Draco that she momentarily forgot that her dear friend was in a hurry.

Hermione's shoulders sagged and she let out a small sigh of relief as Luna went to give her a hug. She could practically feel Malfoy's eyes burning a hole in her back.

Before Luna could hug her, Hermione let out a yawn. Exhaustion was consuming her. She had been sleeping very little for the last few months and the emotional stress Malfoy was subjecting her to only caused her exhaustion to sharpen.

Luna's questioning eyes locked onto Hermione's tired ones.

"Not enough sleep? she asked, her eyes brightening.

Hermione nearly screamed as Draco's strong arm wrapped around her waist and drew her back into his unforgiving body. She he felt like an ensnared animal, and her heart started pounding in alarm.

She tried to remove herself from his grasp without drawing too much attention from Luna, but the strength in his arm was like steel. Pressed up against him as she was, she could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

Draco spoke for her. "She didn't sleep much. We were rather preoccupied with other… activities."

Hermione felt her face burn with mortification. The sexual implication that hung in the air was _indubitable__._

"Activities?" she finally managed to whisper, willing herself to turn slightly to look up and meet the mocking gleam in his cold, grey eyes.

"Darling, do you really want me to explain to Luna exactly what our 'activities' entail?" Draco asked in a seductive voice, managing to make the question seem extremely suggestive.

Hermione suddenly found her mouth too dry for words. She merely shook her head.

She cast a curious glance at her friend and saw the look of contentment on Luna's face. She couldn't help but wonder how Luna knew Draco.

Were they actual friends, or were they merely acquaintances?

As if somehow reading her thoughts, Draco questioned Luna about Edric, revealing exactly how well they seemed to know each other.

"How is Edric doing?" asked Draco, acutely aware of Hermione trying to subtly twist free from his restraining arm. He harshly dug his long, slender fingers into her flesh as a warning.

Hermione stiffened and glanced up at him again.

He only looked down at her for a second, before refocusing his gaze on the blue-eyed witch.

Hermione could have sworn she saw something dangerous flicker in his eyes, but it was gone so soon that she was left wondering if it was real or something her imagination had conjured.

Draco felt her body's sudden tension. Her body being so close to his was pure torture. Sweet, sweet torture.

Even her scent was driving him wild.

The memory of her soft body melting under his touch made him nearly groan out loud.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He tried with great difficulty to ignore the lust surging through his body as he pretended to take interest in the ramblings of his healer's girlfriend, but he was failing miserably.

His defiant mind kept presenting him with suggestive images of the mudblood's naked body lying beneath him. He quickly concluded that the months of forced celibacy he had to endure had reduced him to this pathetic state.

Ever since their last encounter, Draco's need for sex had virtually banished. Initially he hadn't thought much of it. He had been far too preoccupied with managing his inheritance and overseeing some of his latest projects to dwell on his dormant sexual desire. Not to mention that any sort of pressure against his skin brought him pain.

However, whenever he was presented with an opportunity to date a pretty, pure-blooded witch, he found himself extremely opposed to the idea. As months passed, he started to fear that his weird condition would never allow him to bed a witch again. He was also worried that his disease would finally reunite him with his deceased family members, yet as much as he hated to admit it, the brunette's touch soothed him and drove him wild with need.

There was no doubt in his mind that his need for sex had definitely returned and this time there was no extreme pain holding him back.

"-but he's still feeling the after effects of the firewhiskey," finished explaining Luna with a small smile, unaware that neither of them had paid attention to a word she had said.

"In fact, I should probably go check on him," added the friendly witch. She was happy that Hermione and Draco had hit it off, but their displays of affection were making her feel uncomfortable, and intrusive.

"Do you want me to go with you?" blurted out Hermione. She finally ripped herself out of Malfoy's grasp and stumbled just a little. To her complete surprise, Malfoy gently steadied her.

He leaned down close and whispered to her, "Don't even think about it, mudblood." She wasn't sure if it was his threat or his warm breath against her neck that made her shiver.

Luna looked perplexed. "I thought you said you had a lunch date with your parents in the muggle world?"

Hermione immediately paled as she realized she had forgotten about her fabricated excuse to escape the wizarding world, and Malfoy.

Draco nearly flinched when Luna mentioned the muggle world.

"Oh… you're right," stammered the nervous witch.

Luna closely inspected her friend's face. She seemed too pale.

"Hermione, are you alright?" she questioned, concern very evident in her face.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired," replied Hermione. That wasn't entirely a lie. She was tired, but in a strange way, Malfoy's radiating warmth made her feel better. At this hour, she would usually be retching in a toilet somewhere, or in extreme cases in a trash can, but right now her body didn't ache and her head wasn't full of cobwebs.

Draco was amused. His little mudblood was a terrible liar. He knew that Luna was going to leave soon. His blood boiled with anticipation.

"Have you taken your medication?" demanded Luna in a whisper, her eyes anxious. She glanced at Draco, making sure he didn't hear her. It wasn't her place to reveal Hermione's medical history.

"I have, I just need some rest," admitted Hermione.

"Hmm. Well, get plenty of rest, okay?" said the blonde.

Draco knew the whispered question was not meant to be overheard by him, yet he had heard Luna's question very clearly.

A frown marred his usually stoic features.

Medicine? What for?

He carefully looked over the mudblood's tiny body trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong with her. He finally came to the conclusion that he was concerned about her health. He couldn't risk her falling ill, not when his disease had finally decided to give him a reprieve.

As he inspected her face, he noticed the dark circles under her large, tawny eyes and the pallor of her face.

It almost seemed as if he were looking in a mirror. He, too, had dark under eye circles and a paler complexion than usual. It had not escaped his notice that his recent insomnia had left him looking a little tired.

However, he was strong and she was weak.

He gritted his teeth as he realized her pregnancy must be giving her problems. He wanted a healer's assurance that she was okay. If her pregnancy was endangering her life, then terminating it would be the only logical thing to do.

"Drake!" boomed a familiar voice from across the room, bringing him out his pensive state.

The trio turned around.

Luna stared, her mouth slightly ajar.

Hermione genuinely smiled, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

Draco groaned in annoyance.

Theodore Nott was oblivious of the three different reactions his sudden appearance created. He was on a mission, and that mission included locating Draco and dragging him back to the Mansion. There were pressing matters to which he had to attend to.

His strides were purposeful and even as he approached the trio.

Luna had opened her mouth to finish saying her farewell to Hermione, but her words quickly vanished from her mind as she laid eyes on Theo.

Hermione and Draco seemed to evaporate from her vision as she locked eyes with him. Her heart started pounding painfully fast in her chest. The instant recognition in his hazel eyes frightened her.

"Hermione, do you want me to walk you out?" she asked in quick voice, anxiety consuming her.

She couldn't handle the idea of having to be in close proximity to Theo.

"Yes, that would be great!" replied Hermione, in a voice that sounded far too chirpy. She couldn't help it, though. She was going to get away from Malfoy and that made her very happy.

Draco mentally swore. He was contemplating the repercussions of decapitating Theo.

He stood still as the witches bade him farewell, not entirely processing what they were saying.

As the mudblood turned to leave, he captured her small, soft hand in his much larger one.

"Her...Hermione," addressed Draco. He stumbled over her name as he was unaccustomed in using it.

Hermione tried to ignore him, but the pressure he was applying to her hand was quickly turning painful.

"Yes?" she answered, finally relenting.

"How can I contact you?" he mused.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She was thinking about lying to him when Luna unceremoniously blurted out her address. Dread wrapped itself in her belly as she stared at Luna. Luna gave an apologetic smile.

"Now, let's go," said Luna as she dragged Hermione away.

Hermione looked back at him.

He was smirking and there definitely was a dangerous glimmer in his grey eyes.

"I'll see you soon. I promise," he said.

Hermione then accidentally locked eyes with Theo. She gave him a smile and he returned it.

As soon as they were out of sight, her eyes started shinning with unshed tears. Tears of relief intertwined with tears of trepidation.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just… I needed to get away," guiltily explained Luna.

The dainty brunette accepted her apology without further asking for details regarding her friend's bizarre behavior. She just wanted to go home.

**. . .**

Draco, in his mind, was replaying the small exchange he had seen between his mudblood and Theo.

He scowled darkly.

"How well do you know the mudblood?" he interrogated as soon as Theo reached him.

"Hermione?" questioned the hazel-eyed wizard, confusion clearly written in his features.

Draco nodded.

"You_ smiled_ at her," he answered, as if that explained everything.

Theo arched an eyebrow in response to the accusatory statement.

"She smiled at me and I just smiled back," clarified Theo. If he didn't know better he would say that Draco was jealous.

Draco narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"You're not jealous, are you?" asked Theo with a soft laugh.

Draco scoffed.

"Anyway, we have problems," informed the rapidly sobering Theo.

That caught the jealous wizard's full attention.

"Problems?" Draco echoed. He definitely didn't like the sound of that. Problems had a tendency of being tedious and right now all he wanted to do was find his mudblood.

"I think _they_ are back," said Theo in a solemn voice.

**. . .**

A couple minutes later Hermione found herself in her apartment. She carefully sat down on her worn down couch, looking blankly at the wall. The ultrasound pictures of her unborn child on her coffee table made her finally break down, and cry.

It took her a few moments to compose herself. She then decided to go down to the restaurant close to her apartment to try to eat. As she stepped out of her apartment, she shivered at the cold, and kept a quick pace.

She didn't exactly live in a great area, but at the moment it was the best she could afford. She was feeling unwell, the pain that usually accompanied her had returned.

The small witch momentarily stopped to catch her breath when she heard two taunting male voices from behind her.

Their crude remarks filled her heart with fear.

She tried to run, but her world was spinning, and her mind felt foggy.

**. . .**

Draco was going over some documents with Blaise when he felt the familiar pain return to his body. He cursed out loud.

Then he felt fear sweeping throughout his body, causing adrenaline to spike in his bloodstream.

It wasn't his fear.

It was hers.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: I'm on a roll, kind of. I hope you like it! Review. Again, thank you for reading my story. **

* * *

><p>Chapter Fifteen<p>

Blaise was beyond frustrated. He had broken his glasses in anger and was now forced to squint in order to properly read. How hated feeling useless. Hours and hours had passed, but he still couldn't find a solution.

He gave a small, annoyed sigh as he looked around the room and took notice of all the crumpled parchments decorating the polished floor. A few remnant pieces of broken glass were also scattered about the room. His gaze momentarily lingered on his blond friend, a grim frown plastered on his face.

Draco was sitting in a chair; the weight of the world appeared to be on his slouched shoulders. Despite his stooped form, and dull eyes, an aura of danger surrounded him.

The blue-eyed wizard gave him an empathetic look. He knew it couldn't be easy for Draco to have to read the vivid details of his parents' murder.

Draco closed his eyes as dark memories resurfaced. How he wished he could forget. It didn't matter that years had passed. Dwelling in the past always made him feel uncomfortable. He hated that he was once weak and vulnerable.

Blaise could feel his already existing headache gain momentum. He had been so hungry for the last few months, yet he always felt too tired to properly eat. Now that his strange sickness had been cured, leaving no evidence of his previous exhaustion, he had barely eaten anything.

He chose to currently neglect his need for food, instead using the valuable time to come up with a possible solution to silence the witch that was threatening to reveal Draco's past. He resumed squinting at the newest document he currently held in his hand, a plan finally forming in his mind. He smiled at his own ingenuity.

How had he not thought about this before?

He was about to triumphantly share his plan with his stoic companion when he noticed that Draco had abruptly stood up. His shoulders were rigid and his usually cold, grey eyes were filled with something that Blaise couldn't quite place.

**. . .**

"Damn," Draco snarled, as he felt her fear intensify. He took a deep breath and then scowled darkly, feeling a thump of panic starting to expand in his chest. He stood very still, forcing his strange emotions under control. All of his unpleasant memories vanished. Now his mind was filled with extreme worry.

What the hell had the mudblood gotten herself into this time?

"What is it?" questioned Blaise, flabbergasted by his random outburst.

Draco turned his head and impassively looked over at his companion, noting the alarm in his eyes.

Blaise noticed that Draco's features had gone back to hiding emotion, his face was once again a mask of detachment, completely unreadable.

"I forgot something," cryptically answered the blond wizard, hastily moving farther away towards the door.

**. . .**

Hermione broke out in a sweat as she fell to her knees. An unexpected pain started blossoming in the back of her head. She felt something wet trickle down her neck. Wincing, she gingerly touched the back of her head and gasped as she stared at the blue tinted blood smeared across her fingertips.

Resolutely she attempted to get up, ignoring how her blurry vision began to swim with colors.

"This one has heart," said a harsh voice, directly behind the brunette witch.

"Maybe she'll be fun, Lance," replied a second voice.

Hermione turned and focused her unsteady eyes on the man referred to as 'Lance'.

He was of average height, overweight, and not handsome at all. His face was terribly scarred; it seemed as if someone had crudely tried to slice his face in half. The thick scar tissue started at his hairline, went down the bridge of his thin nose, across his lips, and ended at his cheek. It disfigured his face into a permanent smirk. His eyes were green and narrowed.

He had something in his hand that was glinting with the rays of the sun.

The other man was only a little farther away and had unkempt auburn hair. He had a ring in his right nostril and another ring going through his left eyebrow. He made a face when her large eyes locked on his.

Hermione recognized them both. She had seen them hanging out with other bikers around the apartment building. She avoided running into them because she had heard that they were dangerous. The place she lived in was home to a handful small-time criminals, and she was aware of that, but she never thought she'd run into any of them.

"Knock her out. I don't like when they're awake," said the pierced man in an uneasy voice, looking around. They had done this multiple times, yet he still felt unusually nervous. He shook his head at himself. There was nothing to be nervous about. Their gang basically ruled in this side of town. They had taken their pleasure with many women and nobody dared to testify against them. They knew better than that.

The man with the scarred face laughed in response, and cheerfully replied, "Why? They're so much more fun when they struggle!"

The auburn man shot him a look.

"Fine," Lance conceded. He sometimes resented the fact that his friend was somewhat of a coward. He wouldn't voice his opinion out loud, though. As long as he got to fuck a warm female body, he was content. Whether they were conscious or not was optional.

He went towards the small woman. She was on her hands and knees. He violently kicked her stomach. She howled in pain, but still attempted to get up.

Lance frowned. What a shame, he was going to have to hit that pretty face of hers now.

He bent down and grabbed a fistful of her wavy golden-brown hair, but quickly recoiled, hissing in pain.

Perplexed, he looked at the strange blue liquid staining his hand. It had burnt him, feeling eerily similar to acid.

Having recovered from the shock, extreme anger registered in his mind as he finally realized it was going to leave a nasty scar. He was going to make her pay dearly for that.

As he bent down to hit her with the butt of his gun again, Hermione blindly swung her arm at him. She felt her arm make contact. Hearing him groan in pain, she summoned all of her strength, got up, and ran as fast she could towards the restaurant.

Sprinting, she screamed for help, but nobody came to her rescue.

"Riley, don't let her get away!" croaked the scarred man as he tried to regain his senses and doubled in pain. The damn woman had hit his groin. He laughed as he heard her panicked screams. Oh, she could scream her heart out if she wanted to. Nobody would come to her aid, the locals knew better than that.

Hermione didn't dare look back. Her heart felt as it were about to explode.

A wave of dizziness momentarily obscured her vision, but she still kept running on wobbly legs. She fell in an ungraceful heap as someone tackled her off balance. She went down hard, her small hands going out in front of her to protect her unborn baby.

**. . .**

Draco was close, he could feel her presence.

He heard her scream and quickened his steps. He looked at the laughing man hobbling towards the sound of her voice.

The wizard felt his blood boil as he saw, no, _smelt_ her blood on him.

Draco fluidly grabbed the man by the throat, and threw him against the nearest wall with force. The pistol flew away from the muggle's grasp.

He took great joy in seeing the muggle's green eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets as he slumped to the ground and succumbed to unconsciousness

Draco wasn't done with him, but he wasn't interested in dragging out his death. At the moment all of his entire concentration was focused on locating his mudblood.

Going over to the slumped body, he placed his boot over the muggle's neck and pressed down with force, effectively shattering his trachea.

**. . .**

The pierced male watched as the woman he had just tackled struggled to get up. He stretched his slightly stiff limbs. As he stalked towards her, he offhandedly noticed that she was pregnant. Her petite body still looked pleasing enough to him.

Hermione felt tears streaming down her cheeks as she pressed her aching body against the wall. She flattened herself as much as she could and then very carefully placed her trembling hands over her stomach in a protective manner.

He was so extremely close to her. She warily eyed the small knife he now held in front of him.

"Don't move," he threatened.

Hermione nodded at the threat. She felt bile rise in her throat as he leaned in and started to undo the buttons of her shirt with the knife. She inhaled his scent as she tried to calm her breathing. He smelled awful, a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes, and sweat.

Hermione pleaded with him to stop, but he merely chuckled. He proceeded to grope her small breasts with bruising force.

Despite his threat, the brunette tried clawing at him, but he avoided her blunt nails.

She fearfully saw as he raised his hand to strike her. She closed her eyes in expectation, but the knocking blow never came.

**. . .**

Draco's silver grey eyes narrowed in fury as he saw his mudblood pressed against the wall, a muggle male looming over her as he held her exposed body in place. He saw the muggle aggressively raise his hand.

He sped up, and pulled the offending arm backwards until an audible snap was heard.

Draco smiled sadistically as the muggle tried to scream.

A bone-cracking sound and a muffled scream from her assailant made Hermione snap open her tired eyes.

"Malfoy," she breathed.

She witnessed in barely concealed astonishment as her tormentor easily overpowered the biker.

Hermione flinched as Malfoy roughly twisted the man's neck and threw his limp body aside like a rag doll. The pierced man's now lifeless, glazed eyes made her shiver.

The sight of the menacing wizard made heart rate quicken. In a weird way, she was relieved to see him, but as his pale eyes assessed her face and body, she could feel the anger radiating off of him.

As she paid more attention she realized that his hostility wasn't directed at her. In fact, it completely dispersed as his grey eyes momentarily settled on hers.

She noticed that he took a quick glance at her exposed chest, before turning away.

Blushing furiously, she tried hiding her breasts with her thin arms.

He walked towards her and stopped right before their bodies touched. In a gallant gesture, with his gaze still averted, he silently handed her his coat to cover herself with.

She accepted it with trembling fingers, and took a deep breath, smelling his masculine scent.

It soothed her. His presence alone comforted her, providing reassurance that she never thought he could give.

Draco gently smoothed her sweat drenched hair from her forehead.

His gaze softened as he searched her expressive eyes.

He closely leaned in, his lips lightly brushing across her temple.

She shuddered at their proximity and pushed at the wall of his chest.

He was overwhelming her senses.

"Where are you hurt?" he asked, as he pulled away. His face was anxious. He could oddly smell that she was bleeding. It angered him that the scent of her blood was making his body harden.

His body's reaction was inappropriate, but he couldn't will the need in his blood to go away.

Her eyes filled with unshed tears. She closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay. It nearly seemed like he cared, but she knew better.

His jaw clicked, feeling irritated at both her silence and his own lust.

"Mudblood, where are you hurt?" he demanded, his annoyance palpable.

Hermione's body tensed at the insult.

She didn't answer. She merely gritted her teeth as another wave of pain came over her.

Draco felt his heart clench painfully as she hugged her slightly protruding abdomen.

She couldn't think anymore, couldn't bring herself to face him. He was confusing her. She couldn't trust him. One minute he was nice, almost gentle and the next he was downright cruel. Her tired mind couldn't handle it.

Letting out a small whimper of distress, she fainted.

He reached out and caught her limp body.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Tell me what you think! Yes, it's short. Sorry in advance about that.**

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><p>Chapter Sixteen<p>

He wanted to put as much distance between them as possible, but he couldn't will his body to move. It was almost as if an invisible force was shackling him to her.

What was taking Edric so long? He had sent Theo to fetch him at least twenty minutes ago. He stopped pacing, and with a small aggravated sigh, he rearranged Hermione in the middle of his large bed.

Draco inwardly winced as unpleasant memories began to assault his brain. She was unconscious, and looked equally as pale as she had the last time she had occupied his bed. The seething anger inside of him was slowly ebbing away and being replaced with concern.

He had felt such indescribable rage toward the filthy muggles that had laid their hands on her, but he had also felt mad at his own incompetence. He was supposed to protect her in order to protect himself, and look what had happened. He tried to reason with himself that he only cared because their lives were dependent on each other, but a nagging inner voice kept telling him otherwise.

Draco ignored the voice and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of his misplaced emotions.

A small sound dragged him out of his thoughts. He peered down at her face and unintentionally locked eyes with her. An uncomfortable silence stretched out between them.

She looked as if she were on the verge of tears and he had the sudden urge to comfort her and assure her that no one would ever hurt her again. To tell her that she was his and only his. Her sudden question, however, served as a sharp reminder that quickly brought him back to reality.

"Is my baby okay?"she asked very quietly, her voice low and forlorn.

He scowled darkly and noticed how quickly she tore her gaze away from his, tears finally trailing down her pale cheeks.

He was now thoroughly disgusted by his previous thoughts. Why the hell did he want her? Not only was she a mudblood, she was also a slag. Her pregnancy shouldn't have bothered him, but knowing that other males had been inside of her, like he once had, made him burn with jealousy.

"My healer should be here soon," Draco replied coolly, frustrated that his body still lusted after her.

She briefly nodded in understanding, nervously chewing her lower lip.

He proceeded to sit at the edge of his bed, his back facing her, and felt her shifting.

Draco could feel her staring at him, despite being unable to see her.

"What?" he harshly bit out.

She still said nothing, but he felt her stiffen.

He let out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his aristocratic nose.

Again, he felt her shift, but she still remained mute.

Hermione tried to control her erratic breathing, but having him in such close proximity, especially in this memorable bed, made her increasingly nervous. She wanted to say something to him, but his cold, imperious voice made it difficult for her vocal chords to adequately function.

Her body hurt, but she fought against the layers of pain to stay fully alert. She slowly sat up, and took in a deep, shaky breath. How bizarre, she thought, that she somehow felt indebted to her tormentor. Should she thank him or would that anger him even more? She decided to risk it.

"Thank you," she finally conceded.

Draco looked back toward his mudblood. He was about to reprimand her about her misguided gratitude when an intoxicating scent hit his nose. The aroma filling his nostrils seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

He stared at the mudblood as she frantically threw the covers away from her body and gasped.

"I-I-'m bleeding," she stammered, her voice full of panic.

Hermione stared in shock at the blue-tinged blood seeping from in between her legs.

She saw from the corner of her eyes as Malfoy rushed into the bathroom and returned with some towels.

Draco had murder on his mind. Where the fuck was Edric? He forced himself to calm down and control himself. He had no idea how to help her. Kneeling down, he carefully arranged the towels underneath her.

Hermione shivered when Malfoy's hand accidentally brushed against her bare thigh.

Draco misinterpreted her shiver and went to one of the elaborate drawers to acquire a spare blanket.

After he finished covering her body, he turned to leave to find a healer, but her tiny hand latched on to his wrist, momentarily holding him in place.

"Stay," she begged her expressive eyes wide with fear.

He paused for a minute, enjoying the warmth emanating from her hand.

The cold wizard then abruptly snatched his wrist away and walked out of the room, intent on finding a competent healer.

He nearly collided with Theo as he stepped out into the hallway.

"Where is Edric? Draco growled.

Theo cocked his head to the side and gave him a quizzical look. "He just got done checking in on Blaise."

Draco glared and calmly asked, "Why?"

"You told me to get him to the manor, so I assumed you wanted him to check on Blaise," he explained, running his fingers through his light brown hair.

He watched as something menacing flared in Draco's eyes. For a moment he could've sworn he saw his pale eyes flash an orange-reddish color. Theo shook his head, and to his slight relief, he once again found himself looking at a pair of very angry, yet distinctly grey eyes.

"Tell Edric to come to my room. Now," Draco sneeringly commanded.

Theo spared his enraged friend a quick glance to ensure that his eyes were still grey and then took his leave.

Draco forcefully slammed close the ornate double wooden doors behind him. He looked over at the girl and noticed that her face was so pallid that it nearly looked grey.

Her large eyes were closed and her face was contorted in pain. He slowly approached her, not wanting to alarm her. He inwardly rolled his eyes at himself.

He didn't want to alarm her, but he was sure that the thunderous sound of him slamming the doors could have awoken even the dead.

Assessing her small form, he noticed that the coat he had given her to protect her modesty was slipping and exposing far too much of her chest. The bruised flesh made him want to revive the muggle that created them just so he could have the pleasure of properly tearing him to pieces.

Against his better judgment, he gently rearranged the coat around her body.

Draco immediately felt her body tense as he let go of the coat.

She came awake with a start. Her fearful eyes flew open and looked up into his cold ones.

Malfoy was looming over her, a curious glint in his pale eyes.

For once he was close enough for her to notice that his eyes were pure grey, without a hint of blue or green.

Perhaps it was the hormones or the fever, but the next words that came out of her mouth made her face burn with mortification.

"Your eyes are pretty," she blurted. As soon as she said it she covered her mouth with her dainty hand to detain any other strange compliments from springing forth.

Draco grimaced and narrowed his 'pretty' eyes at her. His ego wasn't too fond of her word choice.

On the other hand, at least some color had returned to her face.

Hermione watched him uncertainly. She knew she had insulted him and now felt increasingly wary.

To her astonishment, he just gave her a small, albeit forced smile.

Someone knocking made Malfoy's smile completely vanish.

Draco let his freckled healer inside him room. He was initially angry that Edric hadn't gone directly to him when summoned, but he placed the blame of his healer's delay solely on Theo. In fact, this occurrence definitely required a talk concerning assumptions with his friend.

The uneasy healer nearly gasped at the sight before him, but quickly regained composure.

"Edric,"greeted Hermione in a weak voice.

He merely nodded in response, before he went over to assess the damage done to the petite witch.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Enjoy! Thank you for your support.**

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><p>Chapter Seventeen<p>

Edric's entire concentration was on Hermione. Against his will, his eyes softened in sympathy as he took notice of the pain etched in both her eyes and face. She seemed very frightened and dazed, not unlike the last time he had treated her. He was about to begin inspecting her wounds when he noticed that once he attempted to pull the blanket away from her body, she latched onto it with such force that her knuckles turned white.

He tried to pry it off once again in a gentler manner, but she still didn't let go of the blanket. She gripped at it as if her life depended on it. Edric's dark brows furrowed in confusion, he didn't understand the reasoning behind her reluctant behavior.

"Hermione, I need to see the full extent of your injuries," Edric said slowly, trying to soothe her.

She nodded quietly, looking as if she was about to cry.

"I know, it's just that…," her voice trailed off, and she looked over his shoulder.

The perplexed wizard took notice of the anxious glance she cast over his shoulder. He followed her gaze and suddenly became aware of his employer's presence. Draco was intently observing them, speculation gleaming in his eyes.

Edric wasn't too certain on the type of relationship that Draco had with Hermione and he also did not know what had happened to her. He stood there unmoving for a moment as he pondered on what to do.

On one hand he knew that the pallid witch would undoubtedly need Draco to give her a blood transfusion, and that keeping him close to her would speed up her healing process, but on the other hand he didn't know if Draco was the one responsible for her current pain. If her anxious glance was anything to go by, she didn't seem to want the grey-eyed wizard in close proximity.

He would have to ask her in private what happened to her. If Draco had hurt her, he would have to administer the blood-replenishing potion after he put her in a deep sleep in order to avoid causing her any sort of additional discomfort. Finally reaching a decision, he chose his next words carefully.

"Draco, would you like to wait outside while I examine her? I'll let you know when I'm done," announced the healer.

Cold, grey orbs rose to meet violet ones.

Edric was the first to look away as he busied himself with rummaging through his medical bag.

Draco was initially annoyed at the dismissal, but merely assumed his healer's question was more of a request to protect the mudblood's modesty than it was a suggestion. He inwardly rolled his eyes as he had already seen her naked more than once.

Edric subtly cleared his throat, urging Draco to leave.

The tall wizard sighed, squared his shoulders, and proceeded to step outside, forcing the sharp protective instincts clawing at him aside. He wasn't even aware he possessed such instincts. The last witch he had felt protective towards was his mother.

Hermione watched as Malfoy's tall, powerful frame seemed to become smaller with each retreating step. With every step he took, her discomfort increased. She let out a small, ragged sigh.

"No," protested Hermione. "Stay." She felt pathetic for asking him to stay yet again. She held her breath as she waited to see his reaction. The pain consuming her had stopped gaining momentum, but it was still more than she could bear.

Draco froze mid-step, but he didn't turn to look at her. The air in the room appeared to have left for he found himself having difficulty breathing. He hated to admit it, but sudden warmth flooded his icy heart at her words and he didn't like it. The warm feeling quickly subsided only to be replaced with indignation.

Who the hell did she think she was to command him as if he were a dog? His hands bunched into fists.

The nervous witch wondered if he was going to simply ignore her plea just as he had earlier and part of her really wished he didn't. She saw as his body stiffened and his large hands knotted into tight fists. The sight made a trickle of cold fear travel down her bruised back.

"Why, _mudblood_?" he questioned. His voice was clipped and full of derision.

Edric winced perceptibly at the derogatory term Draco used in reference to Hermione. Perhaps he had spent too much time listening to his girlfriend's tirades concerning muggle-borns and equality or maybe he had a soft spot for Hermione. Either way, he mutely shook his head at Draco's cruelty, wisely remaining quiet.

Ignoring the insult, Hermione let out her breath slowly and softly said, "The pain… It doesn't hurt as much when you're close."

"It's the blood bond," Edric explained matter-of-factly, as he continued rummaging through his medical bag. He was slightly surprised at how strong their blood bond was, despite them barely having had any physical contact for months. He finally took out the scarlet phial he was seeking from his leather bag and urged the witch to drink it. The phial contained a rare liquid known as Caen.

"Here, drink it," he advised, his voice gentle. Hermione began to tentatively drink it.

Completely disregarding the mudblood's request, Draco took long strides toward the double doors, intent on leaving her in the capable hands of his healer.

A sputtering, coughing sound followed by a low pain-filled moan made him whirl around.

Regret coiled in his belly as he saw the agony surfacing in her large eyes. She was taking small, ragged breaths and droplets of sweat were starting to reappear on her forehead.

Draco could practically feel Edric's frustrated glare.

Biting out a curse, he moved with impressive speed and stood as close as he could to her small form. He peered down at her and noticed she had lost consciousness. He reached down and intertwined his long, slender fingers with her much smaller ones.

He finally raised his gaze from her face.

Narrowed violet eyes bore into his. Draco had the urge to apologize to diffuse his healer's anger, but refrained from doing so. His pride wouldn't allow it. He never thought Edric had the ability to look so threatening.

"I thought she was lying," he said. His tone was defensive. How he hated the strange, unfamiliar feelings that the mudblood stirred within him.

"Did you think I was lying, too?" countered Edric.

"No," answered Draco, finally realizing that his previous statement also implicated his friend.

Edric heaved a sigh and said, "After I examine her and I administer a blood-replenishing potion, I'm going to have to procure another phial of Caen."

Draco straightened. "No, I don't want to risk her condition getting worse without you being here. I'll send someone else to get it," he decreed.

The violet-eyed healer nodded in understanding and commenced his examination, he then signaled Draco to hold her hand while he administered the blood-replenishing potion.

Afterwards, Draco summoned two house-elves. He ordered one of them to clean the bed, and sent the other to deliver a message to Theo.

The smaller house-elf started to efficiently clean the elaborate bed, and with Edric's parting permission, Draco picked up Hermione's small form and cradled her to his powerful chest. Her warm breath was fanning his neck and it made his body ache for her.

He had forgotten how pleasing her scent was. The caked blood that was still on her pliant body was, dare he think it, making her scent seem even more alluring. He nuzzled her neck and had a sudden urge to bite her.

"Bed is done, Master," announced the house-elf.

Thankful for the timely intervention, Draco shook his head in disgust at his disturbing thoughts.

He carefully placed Hermione back onto his bed and waited for Edric to finish whatever it was he was doing out in the hallway.

Peering down, the disturbed wizard noticed that the coat he handed to her was now bloodied. He unconsciously inhaled, savoring the aroma. Her blood made him feel dizzy.

"Stupid mudblood," spat Draco in a barely audible voice.

Since he had to retain physical contact with her, he had limited mobility. He knew that it would not take long for Theo to acquire the items he had asked for, one of which was a nightgown, but he couldn't wait. Her blood was driving him mad.

"Elf, go to the closet and get me something comfortable for her to wear," he ordered.

Draco closed his eyes and tried to block out her intoxicating scent. He was beginning to feel exhaustion creep into his bones. He licked his dry lips.

He was thirsty, very thirsty.

"Master," said a timid voice. Draco opened his heavy eyelids. The fucking house-elf was holding out one of his _mother's_ old nightgowns as some sort of offering. When he had said closet, he had meant his closet, certainly not his mother's.

Nobody, absolutely nobody, was allowed into his mother's deserted room.

Fury burned his in belly at the house-elf's audacity.

**. . .**

Edric just got done talking to Luna on the phone, when a blood-curdling scream spurred him into action.

He threw open the ornate double doors and grimaced at the sight before him.

**. . .**

"What the hell is he playing at?" said Theo, incredulity very evident in his voice. His eyes glared at the spot in the room from which the elf had appeared and disappeared from.

Blaise regarded him with curiousity, and simply quirked an eyebrow in question.

"What? You're going to tell me you believe what the elf just said to me?" asked the brunet.

"Why would he lie?" retorted Blaise, amusement creeping into his lively eyes. The idea of Theo buying undergarments and a nightgown for a witch was funny. He stifled a laugh.

Theo snorted and explained, "Because it doesn't make sense."

Blaise silently agreed with Theo that Draco's strange and specific list made very little sense, but he didn't doubt the veracity of the house-elf's words.

"Retti wouldn't lie," he defended. He was fond of the house elf, mainly because he was one of the very few house-elves that fluently spoke Italian in the country.

"Retti?" echoed Theo. "How can you tell them apart?" In his opinion, all house-elves essentially looked the same and had no distinguishing characteristics, aside from their names.

The thin wizard merely rolled his eyes at his companion's ignorance.

After giving a casual shrug of indifference in response to Blaise's eye movement, Theo rose from the chair he was currently occupying, and yawned. "I'll be back soon," he informed.

"After all, the elf said this was an emergency," he added, a sardonic smile playing on his fatigued face.

Theo really couldn't fathom why Draco needed women's clothing and a Clan phial. Or was it a Cain phial? His tired, cumbersome brain couldn't quite recall what the elf had said to him. He temporarily entertained the idea of asking Draco, and at the same time verifying that the verbal list presented by the elf was actually real, but he really didn't want to risk angering Draco nor running into that idiotic healer.

He shuddered as he recalled the strange menacing aura that occasionally surrounded Draco.

"Hey," he found himself asking Blaise, "What was the name of the phial or potion I'm supposed to get? I forgot." He released another yawn.

"Tired?" Blaise asked with a grin, because he couldn't help himself.

Theo narrowed his heavy eyes in response. Blaise looked fresh and rested. He, on the other hand, probably looked partially, if not fully dead.

The jovial wizard grinned. "It's called Caen," he enunciated with precision.

"Where can I find some?" inquired Theo.

"If I were you, I'd check Luna's shop," replied Blaise.

"Luna's shop?" echoed Theo.

"Yes, the owner of the shop is named Luna, hence the name 'Luna's Shop'. Make sense?" replied Blaise in an intentionally slow pace, looking at Theo as if he were mentally deficient.

If Theo's pointed glare was anything to go by, he didn't enjoy being ridiculed.

Blaise released a heavy sigh and added, "Luna Lovegood? You can't tell me you don't remember her."

"I remember her very well," confirmed Theo, his hazel eyes quickly brightening. He suddenly didn't feel so tired anymore.

Blaise was about to inform his now excited companion that Luna had a tendency of closing early when a horrifying sound reached his ears. He stilled and looked over at Theo.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered, his cerulean eyes widening.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews, support, and kind words. Review! This chapter is dedicated to my beloved Caitlin. :D**

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><p>Chapter Eighteen<p>

Theodore Nott's previously tired mind was now engulfed with possible scenarios. Each mental scenario presented him with smooth opportunities to apologize to Luna. He truly wanted to apologize for how callously he had treated her on that fateful night at school. Her fearful, brilliant dark blue eyes and convicting voice still haunted him.

When he had gone to the casino resort a few hours earlier in search of his blond friend, a telling spurt of hope had shot through him when he had noticed that Luna was speaking to Draco, but it was quickly dismantled as she suddenly retreated, robbing him of his chance to speak to her. Yet now, thanks to Blaise's revelation, he had another opportunity to gain her forgiveness and possibly more.

He was no stranger to beauty, but something about the way Luna looked in the simple pink shirt, and figure-hugging pants she wore stirred something powerful inside him. Initially he had thought it was guilt, but now he was realizing it was something else entirely.

It was lust, not guilt. As much as he hated to admit, he couldn't pass off the fire he had felt coursing through his veins at the sight of her as being guilt. No, this was more than that. His lips expanded in a smirk full of anticipation. He couldn't wait to see her again.

A familiar voice drew his attention from his thoughts. He blinked and slightly turned to meet Blaise's questioning gaze.

"Did you say something?" he asked, running a hand through his light brown hair.

"Did you hear that?" repeated Blaise.

"Hear what?" he inquired, now confused.

For about five solid seconds, Blaise remained oddly silent. Then he continued, "I thought I heard a sound just a minute ago."

Arching a delicate eyebrow, Theo eyed Blaise, expecting him to divulge further.

"I didn't hear a thing," he admitted. Unwavering certainty rang in his words, urging Blaise to believe him.

"Hm," replied the unconvinced wizard.

Despite Theo's assurance, Blaise still couldn't shake the uneasy sensation currently trailing down his spine. It was almost as if his instincts were alerting him of danger.

"Why? Did you hear something?" pressed Theo as an afterthought.

Blaise thoughtfully pursed his lips as he sought how to explain without sounding insane. "I thought I heard a scream," he answered

Theo furrowed his eyebrows in bewilderment, but before he could ask any questions, Blaise waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"It was probably nothing," he quickly said, though his blue gaze was still troubled.

Theo put a hand to Blaise's forehead and asked, "Are you feeling okay?" He felt momentarily absurd for asking. Blaise looked perfectly well, despite being overtly thin.

Blaise scoffed, and removed the offending appendage from his person. His eyes slid over Theo's weary countenance with mischief. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Very funny," replied Theo dryly. Apparently Blaise was also aware of the sharp difference in their current appearances. He gave Blaise a half-smile, his eyes glimmering with suppressed amusement.

His own amusement vanishing, Blaise slightly frowned as he took notice of the dark circles under Theo's eyes that emphasized his distinct cheekbones. Visible fatigue aside, Theo practically radiated exhaustion.

Blaise knew that a nasty cold was going around, and he didn't want to risk Theo getting sick, especially when he was capable of helping. Draco's interview was still hours away, and he was certain that if he read over any more documents he would blind himself, or at the very least go cross-eyed.

"I'm going with you," announced the slender wizard as he began putting on his boots and coat. He quickly picked up his trademark blue wand and determinedly walked away from Theo.

Theo stared at his retreating back, his startled expression fading away into concern.

"Blaise," he called out, "shouldn't you be resting?"

"I don't feel like resting," Blaise replied in a flippant voice, never breaking stride.

"What about Draco's interview?"

That made him briefly pause. "The interview is still a few hours away."

Theo sighed; he was secretly glad for the assistance, but still worried. Blaise's body was barely recuperating from its brush with death. However, he knew better than to argue with Blaise. That damn wizard was too stubborn for his own good.

**. . .**

Something was wrong. Hermione could feel it as she surfaced into consciousness. Something had pierced the deep, soothing layers of her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly to try to clear her foggy vision.

Hermione gingerly forced her sore body into a sitting position.

She was expecting pain to rush through her body, but it never came. Instead of the pain she was awaiting, she felt the madness of both grief and rage. The madness didn't seem to belong to her, but she felt it nonetheless. As her hazy vision began clearing, she was able to make out Malfoy's back.

Despite having his back turned to her, Draco knew the instant she stirred from her slumber. He didn't want to risk hurting her. Not because he cared about her. He just didn't want to indirectly harm himself by harming her.

The suppressed memories flashing before his eyes made him feel dangerous. In the current state he was in, all he wanted was to shred someone to pieces.

"Malfoy," whispered the lightheaded witch, confusion evident in her voice.

He ignored her and attempted to contain the rage surrounding his heart. His lips drew back in a silent snarl, exposing lengthened incisors. With each painful flashback, the mounting urge to kill was threatening to consume him. A flicker of annoyance crossed his features. He had never had this much difficulty controlling himself. The last time he had struggled to control his murderous rage was the first time he had come face to face with one of his parents' betrayers, and that was a long time ago.

Hermione closed her eyes in an effort to block the strange, broken memories that began assaulting her dizzy brain. The disturbing images, and frightened voices flooding her mind were not familiar to her, they seemed to belong to Malfoy.

"Malfoy," she repeated. She wanted to know why she was experiencing his memories.

Draco bit out a curse, her persistent voice made the precarious hold he had on his control snap.

Whirling around, he stared into her enormous brown eyes. She wanted his attention, didn't she? Well, now she had it.

Hermione gave him a startled look as she stared into his eerie reddish eyes, but in a blink they were back to their cool grey color. She lowered her gaze and bile rose in her throat, as her eyes fully focused on the spectacle before her.

Draco was covered in blood; an unidentified bloody object was firmly held in his grasp. A limp, lifeless body was sprawled a few feet away. The face of the dead house-elf was molded into a permanent horror-stricken expression.

The sight was grotesque.

She couldn't imagine what the house-elf had done to deserve this death. She shook her head, he probably hadn't done anything. Malfoy was a monster and he simply enjoyed inflicting pain on others.

She gasped as she noticed that he had possession of her hand. She immediately ripped it out of his grasp.

Draco raised an eyebrow in question, but otherwise offered no explanation for what he had done.

"Why?" she questioned, feeling appalled to an extent, but not exactly frightened.

"Why what?" retorted Draco, a small smirk forming on his handsome face.

Carelessly, he dropped the heart onto the floor. The bloody organ landed with a resounding thump that made Hermione visibly shiver.

Draco knew what she was asking. Much of his anger had worn off and the flashbacks had abruptly stopped. He wanted a sense of normalcy back and his version of normal included terrorizing a certain mudblood.

"Why did you kill him?" Hermione hesitantly asked. She purposely avoided looking at the corpse, not trusting her queasy stomach.

"He annoyed me," replied Draco in a voice devoid of emotion

She shot him a look, but before she could say anything, Edric intervened.

"Hermione, how are you feeling?" he questioned, looking between the two of them. Edric had been a silent spectator. He didn't dare approach either of them while they seemed to be in some sort of invisible exchange. The moment the immense power radiating in the room had vanished, he had deemed it safe to approach them.

"I feel better, but a little queasy," she truthfully answered.

Draco chuckled darkly. So the mudblood couldn't handle the sight of blood and carnage? How typical.

Edric ignored Draco as he carefully offered Hermione a blanket.

Blushing furiously at realizing that her state of dress revealed a considerable amount of bare skin, she quickly took it from his grasp and covered herself.

"Thank you," she said, her blush finally receding.

Edric merely nodded his head in acknowledgement.

After picking up his mother's old nightgown with his only clean hand, Draco turned to take a shower in one of the guest rooms, but was quickly blocked by Edric.

"Where are you going?" asked the healer, crossing his arms.

Draco inwardly sighed. Wasn't it obvious that he was in need of a shower?

"To take a shower," he answered, sidestepping the healer.

"You'll have to take one here. She needs to be physically near you," explained Edric.

Silver eyes narrowed in irritation. Draco glanced back at Hermione, her large eyes almost seemed too big for her small face.

He gave her a humorless smile.

**. . .**

The annoyed blonde let out an unladylike curse as she continued to reshelve the scattered books in her store.

Luna Lovegood was not having a good day. Her best friend wouldn't answer her phone and Edric had canceled on her. Not to mention the three rude, prepubescent customers that had stopped by earlier. They were not only rude, but they had intentionally picked up items from their rightful place in the shelves and placed them at random locations throughout the store.

She hated disorganization.

Finding the misplaced items and putting them back to their proper locations had taken about two hours and the whole fiasco had also given her a lasting headache. What ensued afterwards could only be described as chaos.

Only two out of her four employees were working today and a sudden surplus of customers had made the shortage of employees vividly known. Long lines and frustrated customers filled her small, yet very popular shop. After most of those customers had left, Luna tripped over a small stepping stool and in her vain attempt to steady herself she ended up completely bringing down a shelf full of heavy books that contained the medicinal uses of local and foreign herbs.

Luna's two employees had offered to help reshelve them, but seeing as they were already preoccupied with adding up the total sales for today, she had declined their kind offer.

This is why she currently found herself cursing only loudly enough for her ears as she manually picked up the heavy books. If only she hadn't forgotten to get her wand along with her toiletries from Edric's oversized medical bag. It wasn't the first time she had left personal items in there and most likely wouldn't be the last.

She smiled fondly as she had a sudden flashback of Edric's clear indignation at her for using his medical bag as some sort of purse substitute.

She bent down to pick up another book when the bell on her store's heavy door alerted everyone within the establishment of a new potential customer.

Luna groaned as she realized she had forgotten to put the "closed" sign on the door.

When she heard the soft thuds of boots approaching her back, her mouth went oddly dry, and her heart threatened to break her rib-cage. The hairs on the back of her neck also went up in alarm.

Slowly, she slightly turned to see her newest potential customer.

It was _him_, the last person on the planet she wanted to encounter again.

Theodore Nott.

The uneasy witch blinked, as if to rid herself of an illusion, but he was real and still casually sauntering towards her with an arrogant gleam in his hazel eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark**

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for taking so long to update I was experiencing a bit of writer's block. I hope you like this chapter, for some reason it took me forever to finish writing it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has been reading my story. Your reviews really do motivate me. All of you are so great!**

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><p>Chapter Nineteen<p>

Visibly paling, Luna gripped the book in her hands tightly enough to turn her knuckles white as she she mentally debated on what to do. She knew she was staring, but she couldn't force herself to look away. It was almost as if everything in her shop had faded away, leaving only Theo's approaching figure in focus.

He looked tired, the lines of exhaustion clearly stamped on his well-defined features. The small, taunting smile adorning his fatigued face only intensified the wicked gleam in his eyes.

As they fully settled on her shocked blue eyes, they narrowed ever so slightly in recognition, and immediately darkened as they slid lower. Luna wasn't dressed provocatively, however the pastel pink dress she was wearing did do a fantastic job at outlining her figure, particularly her full breasts.

Her previously pale cheeks reddened as she took notice of his unabashed scrutiny. Strategically placing the heavy book she had in her hands in front of her body, she cursed herself for her fashionable, yet narcissistic sense of style.

All of her employees were allowed to wear anything they wanted as long as they followed her dress code, yet she never followed her own dress code. She always thought her flexibility in her clothing choice was simply a perk of owning her own store, but in this very moment she really wished she had followed the dress code at least this once.

It wasn't like she was dressed for seduction, but the form-fitting dress she was currently wearing was supposed to be for Edric, unfortunately he had cancelled their date for today.

Even when he halted his purposeful steps to take a call, she still found herself transfixed. The last time she had seen him in the casino resort she had been too flustered to notice how different he looked now.

Taking advantage of his distraction, she took the opportunity to look him over. She couldn't help but notice how out of place he seemed in her small shop. The almost bohemian look of her store clashed with the sophisticated wizard. Outwardly he looked perfect, as if he were personification of male beauty, power and elegance, but she knew better.

Glancing over at his sculpted arms and broad shoulders, she almost found it hysterical that she had ever compared him to a girl. There was nothing soft nor feminine about him. Everything about him was sharp and dangerous, much too dangerous, especially to her. There was once a time when his quick wit and then boyish looks appealed to her, in fact, she found him intriguing and enjoyed their constant verbal sparring, but now he simply terrified her.

Whenever she thought of him, only one memory surfaced to her mind. A memory that she wanted to desperately bury.

Feeling dread building up inside her once she noticed he had finished talking on the phone and had resumed walking towards her, she entertained the idea of asking him to leave, but that meant risking the possibility of engaging him. Instead, she decided that she would pretend as if she didn't know him.

Yes, that's what she would do. She would ask one of her remaining two employees to tend to him, while she substituted for them in tallying up the sales for today. Finally looking away from him, she decided to refocus her attention back to the task at hand with renewed vigor to at least make it look as if she were too busy to assist him in whatever it was he was looking for.

Luna was about to offhandedly notify him that someone would be with him shortly, when a sound caught her attention, turning towards the sound she saw in dismay as her employees were leaving through the "employees only" back door. They waved at her and said their farewells. Luna merely gave the duo a nod of acknowledgement, too panic-stricken to say anything.

She tried forcing herself to take deep breaths to calm her nerves, but being alone with him felt much worse than she remembered.

He was now close enough that she could smell his cologne intermingled with his masculine scent. She felt light-headed, his presence made her heart beat painfully against her ribcage. Although they hadn't spoken a word to each other, the tension in the air was tangible.

Attempting to regain some of her composure, she was about to turn around to face him when his low voice emerged from behind her, effectively ending the silence between them.

"Breathe."

Luna's already unsteady legs threatened to give out under her, the simple word made a chill go down her spine. That voice belonged to the wizard who haunted her dreams and ruined every potentially intimate moment between her and Edric. Even though the presumed level of his proximity made her uneasy, she finally spun around,her breath catching in her throat as she saw just how close he truly was to her.

"I-I am," she stammered.

Theo could clearly see the fear lingering it in her luminous eyes and trembling figure. She seemed so fragile to him then, which was odd to him because he always thought of her as being tough.

The unfamiliar feelings of discontent and shame currently occupying his chest made him feel so lost. When he first saw Luna at the casino resort lust had surged through him, but now seeing how afraid he made her, made him feel awful.

Frowning, he moved his hand to capture the lone tear escaping her eye, but she hastily backed away from his touch.

"Don't," warned the distressed witch. She held up both of her hands out in front of her to keep him at bay.

"Luna, look, I…"

Theo was at a loss for words, he wanted to apologize and tell her that he hated frightening her, but he simply couldn't will the words out of his mouth. He looked away and ran a hand through his light brown hair, and let out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't bear the sight of her fear.

Luna knew that telltale sign of agitation. She slowly began backing away as if distancing herself from a wild animal, until her feet hit the stepping stool which had tripped her earlier. She closed her eyes shut and reached out blindly, hoping to be able to hold onto something to keep her from falling. Ironically, the thing she managed to latch onto was Theo's dress shirt.

A surprised gasp was Theo's only warning as he felt himself being taken down by an unseen force.

**. . .**

Draco Malfoy welcomed the hot water cascading down his lean body. It took some of the tension of away from his stiff joints. The blond wizard wasn't looking forward to the his interview later in the evening. All he really wanted to do was track down the woman that appeared to have some knowledge about his parents' murderers.

He would usually take a long shower and indulge himself, but knowing that Hermione was suffering while he was physically away from her made him rush. He scoffed.

Where the hell did that thought come from?

The emotions that the mudblood provoked in him put him on edge, he didn't have time for these sort of things. He learned long ago that emotions led to weakness, and he certainly wasn't weak. He couldn't afford to be weak and vulnerable. Strength and power, now that was something he yearned for.

Looking down at the elf's blood swirling down the drain made his mind conjure up unpleasant images from his childhood. All that blood and those dead, mutilated bodies. Two of them being his parents.

He bunched his hands into fists, intentionally digging his blunt nails into his palms for being so fucking weak. Long ago he swore that he would take merciless revenge on all those involved, even if it cost him his own life and he intended to carry out that promise. All of them deserved to die excruciating deaths, every last fucking one them would die by his hand.

Releasing a tremulous sigh, he closed his eyes shut, hoping in vain that it would help stop the vivid images. His memories quickly became so dark and turbulent that his usually calm features twisted in fury.

He slumped to the floor as he recalled the grisly details of his mother's final moments. Draco covered his ears with his hands as if that would somehow block the terrified screams and sounds of death, but they only increased in volume. A ragged sound of anguish tore from his throat as he relived the horror of that day.

**. . .**

Hermione was readjusting herself in the large bed, she really wanted to take a shower. The sheets were now clean and the elf's dead body had been disposed of. She felt dirty, the blood that still remained on her thighs had begun to dry.

As she attempted to sit up in bed, Edric came to her side and assisted her by placing a pillow behind her. She gave him a murmur of thanks and leaned back into the pillow, forcing her body to relax.

It was useless, she couldn't relax knowing that Malfoy could severely punish her at any moment if she "annoyed" him like the elf had.

The pain coursing through her body had lessened, but it still made her uncomfortable. She really wished Malfoy would hurry up. As much as she hated it, she couldn't deny that his touch soothed her. Placing her small hands on her abdomen, she frowned as she thought about the cruel wizard.

Did she really want that monster as the father of her child? In the back of her mind she knew he wouldn't acknowledge her baby as his own, and quite frankly the more time she spent in his presence the less compelled she felt to argue against the accusations of her baby not being his.

The only thing that kept her from lying to him about the paternity of her child was fear. She released a small of groan of distress. Her contradicting thoughts were starting to give her a headache.

Edric rose from the chair he was currently sitting and was quickly by her side. "Is the pain getting worse?" he questioned.

"No, it's still tolerable, I just need to take a shower," answered Hermione.

"If it gets any worse, don't hesitate to tell me, alright? You don't have to feel embarrassed," explained Edric, concerned that she would keep things to herself out of embarrassment.

Hermione nodded, thankful for Edric's presence.

He smiled at her, and retook his seat, calmly observing her from a short distance.

"Will I be able to shower soon?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

Edric frowned, a hint of apprehension glimmering in his violet eyes. "Yes, but you will need some help."

"What do you mean by that? she questioned. In the next instant, her eyes went wide and glassy.

Edric's answer faded away into the background as she experienced a strange, yet familiar fluttering in her mind.

She knew what was going to happen and she desperately wanted to block out the gruesome memories that were about to plague her mind. Somehow Malfoy was unintentionally sharing his memories and emotions with her again.

Hermione became overwhelmed as a wave of hate and grief crashed into her. The intensity of Malfoy's feelings was physically painful.

She gagged as she had a flashback of a woman's body, her milky white skin absolutely drenched in blood, her face was covered in bruises and gashes. The color of her long hair was unidentifiable as it was also covered and matted with blood. She was groaning in pain. Three men were looming over her quivering body and leering at her. Their trousers were undone and the woman's legs held evidence of rape. Two of them violently kicked her body, laughing while doing so. The third one was busy removing a heavy sword from a wall that held many medieval weapons. The sobbing woman screamed at someone to look away before the sword was brought down on her neck.

"Hermione! Listen to me. Tell me what's wrong. Does something hurt?" asked Edric, his voice full of anxiety. He only stopped gently shaking her when her eyes lost their hazy appearance.

"I need to see Malfoy," she replied, her voice full of conviction. She started to rise out of bed, despite Edric's sharp warnings.

On shaky legs she started to make her way to the bathroom door.

Edric finally conceded and offered her his arm to keep from stumbling, she took it with great gratitude and ignored the dizziness and fear she felt as she knocked on the bathroom door.

Hermione couldn't breathe as she felt Draco's rage reach a level so high that it was palpable. His need for violence and retribution was disorientating her, but she was determined to calm him down. The urge to soothe and comfort him was inexplicable, but extremely compelling. The memory of the woman she had seen had shaken her, she could only imagine how it had affected Malfoy.

She didn't know the identity of the woman and frankly she didn't care, but she knew that she meant a lot to Malfoy.

**. . .**

Draco was struggling to repress the emotions threatening to consume him. A knock on the door interrupted his grim thoughts. He very slowly turned his head toward the sound, an almost feral look on his face.

**. . .**

Edric was concerned. The blood bond between Draco and Hermione appeared to be unstable, yet extremely powerful. He would have to read up on these sort of blood bonds when he got home because he definitely needed answers. If he didn't know better, he'd say that they were starting to form a telepathic link, which was astounding considering how long they had been apart from each other.

He had nearly had a heart attack when Hermione appeared to have succumbed to a trance. Her open, glazed eyes had worried him, but he there was no mistaking the power that was in the air. He had felt it twice already in the last hour.

The pensive healer broke out of his thoughts as he noticed that his patient's breathing was ragged. Her extreme pallor had him concerned. She had let go of his arm, but her body kept trembling and swaying. It looked as if she was about to collapse any second now. Against his better judgement, he carefully put his arm around her to balance her.

Thankful for Edric's thoughtfulness, Hermione tried to knock again when the door flew open.

Her stomach did a funny flip as she saw Malfoy standing in front of her, dripping wet, with only a towel wrapped around his narrow hips. The first thing she noticed, aside from his sculpted body, was that his hip markings were glowing a faint red, the second thing she noticed was that his usually pale eyes were flickering from a reddish color to his natural grey. The third thing she noticed was how he momentarily stared at Edric's arm and lifted an eyebrow.

Edric shifted uncomfortably under Draco's piercing glare. He wanted to release her, but he stood his ground. If it weren't for his arm, he was sure the small witch would fall down. She was already leaning against him and putting a lot of her weight on him.

"What do you want, mudblood?" spat Draco, a scowl now present on his face.

Not knowing what to say, and daunted by his cruel words, Hermione racked her brain for an acceptable answer. A moment ago all she wanted to do was to comfort him, but now seeing how unaffected he appeared she just felt foolish.

Draco searched her eyes, they seemed haunted, and anxious.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," she finally said.

"Why?" questioned the perplexed wizard with surprise evident in his voice. It had taken great effort on his part to calm himself down. The fact that Edric was touching her threatened to break the precarious hold he had on his barely restrained fury.

"Because I saw her. The woman," Hermione answered truthfully. Hopefully he would understand what she meant by those cryptic words.

Draco's eyes narrowed substantially, he glanced from Hermione to Edric wondering how much they knew. Judging by Edric's furrowed brow, he didn't appear to know too much.

"What do you know"? Hermione heard Malfoy ask Edric, and frowned at how easily the blond wizard had disregarded her.

"I don't know what she's talking about," admitted the baffled healer.

There was a moment of silence and Edric simply said, "I didn't see a woman."

Draco knew when Edric lied, he was actually quite a terrible liar. At the moment the sincerity of his words convinced him that Edric was indeed oblivious. The mudblood, on the other hand, seemed to know something and that worried him.

Cold, grey eyes were again locked onto honey ones.

Still boring his gaze into her, he ordered his healer to go outside.

Hermione felt wariness creep into her bones once she finally understood what Draco wanted. He wanted to be alone with her. She mentally berated herself, a couple of minutes ago she had thought of Malfoy as being comparative to a wounded animal, but now that she physically saw him without being able to read his thoughts and emotions, he seemed like a predator.

The idea that someone as menacing as him would need someone to comfort him now seemed ludicrous to her.

"No, don't leave," protested Hermione, holding on to Edric.

Draco rose a contemptuous eyebrow at the scene displayed before him. Seeing her touch and being touched by another male was making him feel dangerously jealous. In the back of his mind he knew that it was Edric's job to heal her, but at the moment all he wanted was for the freckled healer to back away from his mudblood.

"Let go of her," said Draco to Edric.

Edric shook his head. "If I let her go, she'll lose her balance," he explained, readjusting his grip on Hermione. He knew it wasn't wise to resist Draco's request, yet he couldn't bring himself to leave the delicate witch in his employer's presence. Draco seemed oddly unsettled.

Hermione's mind was screaming at her to get away from Malfoy, but her body appeared to have an agenda of it's own as it sought to get closer to the wizard's inviting warmth. Her eyes slowly closed and she relaxed in Edric's arms as her mind clouded.

The two wizards began conversing, but she felt too tired and content to keep up with their conversation.

A few minutes later, she felt her body being shifted.

The fact that Malfoy was now the one holding her instead of Edric barely registered in her mind.

Dazedly she looked around as she now found herself in a lavish bathroom. Finally snapping back to reality, Hermione looked around wildly.

"Put me down!" she exclaimed, now fully lucid.

Taunting, male laughter was her only response.

"I said put me down!" she repeated.

"You'll have to let go of me," whispered Draco into her ear.

Hermione shivered, then she became aware of the fact that her arms were around his neck.

She abruptly released him and he gently lowered her.

As her feet touched the cold floor she noticed how opulent the bathroom was. She touched one of the decorative walls, admiring the intricate patterns of the marble.

"Where is Edric?" she questioned. Her gaze resettled on the arrogant wizard. He was casually leaning against a wall, a lazy smile spreading across his handsome face. Hermione thought he looked like a cat that had just caught a mouse.

"Not here," he replied dismissively.

"That's informative," muttered Hermione under hear breath, unable to keep from rolling her eyes.

"Did you say something?" he inquired, amused by her reaction.

Hermione glared at him, but not before she noticed that he was still only wearing a towel around his narrow hips.

She shook her head. Draco followed her gaze and smirked.

Heat rushed to her face and she quickly turned around, taking an extreme interest in the wall she had been admiring a few moments earlier. "W-what am I doing here?"

"Edric said you wanted to take a shower," said Draco from behind her.

Hermione turned around to look at him "I can take a shower by myself," she informed him. It was true she desperately wanted to take a shower, but she still didn't understand what he was doing in the bathroom.

"True, but you might fall down, so Edric insisted that someone should watch over you while you showered just in case anything happened," he drawled.

Realization finally dawned on her. Taking a controlling breath, she attempted to explain to him that his presence was not necessary but he was not budging.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in forever, and I'm sorry for that. I once again don't have a valid excuse for my absence, so as always... I will blame Cailtin. Yes, it was Cailtin's doing, somehow. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! I know it's been a while, an exact year, since I last updated, but I haven't abandoned this story.**

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><p>Chapter Twenty<p>

Hermione looked behind her shoulder, making sure that the blond wizard still had his back to her. Releasing a sigh of relief, she once again tried undoing her bra.

After a few minutes, she muttered an expletive out of pure frustration. To her, it felt strange to curse, but she found it fitting for her current situation.

She was nearly nude, in a bathroom, with a half-naked Malfoy only a few feet away from her.

For a moment, she pressed her trembling fingers to her temples, closing her eyes, trying to will the dizziness in her head to go away.

It was no use.

She resumed her efforts, but she still couldn't reach the hooks of her bra with her injured shoulder. During her first few attempts she had managed to fiddle with the hooks, but now her sore shoulder was no longer cooperating with her, and her hands had begun trembling too much from the exertion, making the simple task seem even more daunting.

Hermione thought it was ridiculous how uncooperative her body was being. With renewed determination, she tried reaching for the hooks, causing her strained muscles to protest.

"What the devil is taking you so long?" harshly asked Draco, impatiently tapping his slender fingers on the wall in front of him. He had been staring at the wall for so long now that he had unconsciously committed the intricate patterns of the marble to memory.

His notoriously short patience was rapidly diminishing.

He already had, unnecessarily, spent a good five minutes arguing with the mudblood that his presence was required in order for her injured body to heal, and in case of an accidental slip, and now she was taking what felt like an eternity to undress herself.

Hermione winced at his words. She could sense the rising anger in his voice. As hard as she wished it otherwise, she knew she was going to have to ask him for help, seeing as he was the only other individual in the bathroom.

Mortification swept through her with that sudden realization.

"I need help with my bra," she found herself answering, continuing her clumsy attempts to remove the garment.

A small hiss of pain escaped the small witch's lips.

Draco whirled around. From what he could see, she had taken off all of her clothing, except her undergarments. He could tell from her increasingly stiff movements that she was going to seriously hurt herself if she didn't stop.

Hermione heard him shift behind her. Carefully, she turned around to face him, covering her chest with her arms.

Draco studied her form, his cold grey eyes widening slightly as he took in how frail and wounded she looked.

Her skin was so pale, it nearly seemed translucent. Glancing over her slender body, he could see darkening bruises marring the smooth skin of her chest, despite her efforts to cover them. Her rounded abdomen had a particularly nasty bruise on it. There was dried blue-tinged blood that had trickled down her legs, and her hair was matted with what also appeared to be blood.

Guilt and an overwhelming sense of rage washed over him. He could have spared her from those wounds if he had gotten to her faster.

If he could kill the men that had done this her at least a dozen times over, it still wouldn't be enough for him. A small part of him regretted having ended their lives so quickly. He had shown them mercy, when he should have given them both a slow, merciless death.

Hermione nervously shifted her feet, growing anxious by Malfoy's studious gaze and silence.

He moved then, gracefully gliding toward her, his muscles rippling underneath his alabaster skin.

In a matter of seconds, he was directly in front of her.

Her breath hitched, up close he was too big, too tall, causing her heartbeat to frantically thunder in her ears.

She could feel the heat emanating from his nearly nude body.

His pale, grey eyes moved over her face, a frown forming on his own as his gaze wandered lower.

Draco's large hands grabbed her thin arms, gently pulling on them, urging her to display her injured chest to him.

As soon as his skin made contact with hers, Hermione felt a pleasing jolt of warmth spread throughout her trembling body.

For a moment, their eyes locked, a heated message of awareness arching between them.

She instinctively backed away from him, from the way his soothing touch made her feel.

Draco moved with her, never breaking the unyielding grip he had on her arms.

Hermione felt the cold sliding shower door make contact with her bare back and instantly felt vulnerable.

A wave of fear suddenly slammed into her.

Trapped, she stood very still, blinking up at the tall, grey-eyed wizard

"Let me see," he said softly, moving closer.

Hermione's small, blunt teeth tugged at her lower lip. Somewhere, deep inside her, she knew he wouldn't stop until she showed him, until she gave him what he wanted.

Draco's body was burning with lust. He watched, fascinated by the way she unconsciously bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. She released the hold she had on her lower lip, and then used her tongue to lick away the small bead of blood.

She was driving wild with desire, and she wasn't even aware of it.

Their bodies were now almost pressed together, only a few inches separating them.

With each step he took, Hermione felt her sensitized body react to his, and in spite of her wariness, a slow, burning desire began coursing through her system.

She was acutely aware of his masculine scent.

The muscles etched his powerful chest, his broad shoulders, and the ridges of his abs that seemed to be carved from marble also briefly caught her attention.

Tearing her gaze from his sculpted body, she tilted her head back looking over his chiseled features, steeling herself for what she was about to say.

"I'll show you, if you stop doing that," answered Hermione, her voice thick and breathless. The foreign voice didn't seem to belong to her.

It embarrassed her how wanton she sounded even to her own ears.

Draco halted his movements when he heard the sultry voice. A blond eyebrow arched in confusion as he took notice of the small, appreciative glance she gave his body.

For a long moment his grey gaze roamed over her face, intrigued by the color staining her face.

A faint smirk touched his mouth. Pulling her closer, Draco seductively whispered into her ear, "Stop what?"

The low, husky voice sent delicious shivers down the brunette's spine.

Out of habit, Hermione's small, pink tongue darted out to moisturize her dry lips.

Draco felt himself harden as erotic images of what that tongue of hers could do to him flashed in his mind.

He knew his desire-filled mind was clouding his judgment.

Hermione felt him release her arms, and pull her body into his, pressing the hardness of his body onto the softness of hers.

She closed her eyes at the sensations pouring through her. Her body felt hot, even though she was almost nude.

His hands rested on her tiny waist, slid up towards her ribcage, and then made their way to her back. His strong arms closed around her petite frame, dwarfing her with his much larger one.

Hermione's eye flew open when she felt him undo her bra.

She hastily tried holding the bra in place, but he grabbed her delicate wrists.

"Don't," he said, his voice taking an authoritative edge.

Looking up into his silver eyes, she could see the warning in them.

Her lashes fluttered downwards escaping his gaze, but Draco reached out and captured her chin, forcing her to look at him as he carefully, with infinite gentleness, removed the straps from her shoulders, dragging his hands over the exposed skin.

Wherever his hands touched, her skin burned.

He began doing the same with her underwear, his hands lingering on her outer thighs, but she stopped him.

Her eyes connected with his.

Hermione noticed that his usually cold eyes were warming into liquid mercury, lust clearly shining in them. She removed her hands from his larger ones, and allowed him to remove her underwear.

Now fully naked, Draco urged her into the shower stall.

The warm water cascaded over her, weighing down her hair, and cleansing her body.

Through the silvery curtains of water, she could see him getting undressed.

Draco let the towel that was haphazardly wrapped around his narrow hips crash onto the bathroom floor, no longer being able to stand how it felt against his sensitized skin.

Hermione nervously swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she took in his masculine body.

"You want this as much as I do," huskily said Draco, noticing the apprehension in her eyes.

He stepped into the shower stall with her.

The rivulets of water streaming down his body made the brunette blush as she followed them to their destination.

He was very obviously aroused, and getting closer and closer to her.

"W-want what?" asked Hermione, the words sounding wobbly.

Draco smirked at her, and pressed his body into her, letting her know how much he wanted her.

Her breasts pushed against his flat, defined chest, her nipples hardening.

Hermione felt his intimidating erection pressing against her.

"This," he confessed, a glint of triumph shimmering in his eyes as he felt her shiver in anticipation.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading! Reviews would be lovely.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.**

**Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.**

**A/N: Okay, so I'm obviously terrible at updating consistently, but I haven't given up on this story. This chapter is short, but I think it serves its purpose. In other words, this chapter needed to happen for a reason. Anyway, enough rambling! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter Twenty-One<p>

Hermione's breath came in a sharp, sudden gasp as she felt his long, thick length pressing against her. She closed her eyes, feeling her body come alive, every nerve ending in her body pulsating, a warm, moist sensation began pooling in the junction between her thighs. Her nipples tightened, hardening into rosy pebbles.

Draco bent his head, and crashed his lips onto hers, hungrily feeding off of her.

His mouth aggressively explored hers, his tongue dominating hers into submission.

One of his hands cupped her buttocks, further pressing her body against his, relishing in the feel of her petite body molding into his much larger one, while the other slowly, one finger at a time, tangled into her thick hair. He angled her face for better access, kissing her long and hard. His lips left her mouth, trailing kisses down her jaw. He forced her head back, making her arch her back, exposing her injured chest to him.

Self-conscious, Hermione tried to cover herself once again without being aware of it.

"Why are you so shy? It's nothing I haven't seen before," he said, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice.

His grey eyes watched, fascinated, as her color crept up her face, her eyes reflecting her embarrassment, then darkening with another emotion he couldn't quite place.

She turned her head away from him.

"I don't want you to see," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.

"Don't want me to see what?" he questioned, perplexed.

"The marks," she answered.

Draco winced, remembering the outlining hand-prints of bruises he had seen marring her soft skin.

"I don't care. I want you," he confessed after a pause, knowing full well she thought the marks somehow made her ugly. It was partly true. He did want her. However, he did care about the marks, a lot more than he liked to admit. The fact that she was assaulted by a pair of low-life muggles, a situation that he could have prevented, still didn't sit well with him.

Hermione reluctantly removed her shielding arms away from her chest, the blush on her cheeks deepening even further at his admission.

To Draco's surprise, she angled her body closer.

He gazed at her for a moment, and the without breaking eye contact, he cupped a firm breast and took the peak into his mouth, suckling and nipping at the rosy bud.

His hand kneaded the small mound before it moved downwards.

She closed her eyes in ecstasy, her small fingers gripping his silvery hair, a moan wrenching from her throat as he expertly teased her.

His tongue then made its way onto her bruises, soothing the stinging flesh.

Hermione shuddered of the erotic sensation of his tongue swirling over her sensitized skin, waves of pleasure cascading over her.

His teeth soon joined in, gently scraping and teasing her aching breasts. She opened her eyes, watching through heavy-lidded eyes as her bruises seemed to vanish right before her eyes. With each kiss, scrape, and lick, the pain that had been previously radiating through her, lessened and morphed into something else.

He released the hold he had on her hair, and straightened up, using his body to press hers up against the marble wall behind her.

He tilted her chin upwards, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Flames licked at Hermione's skin, her belly tightening in anticipation.

His wandering hand pushed against her womanhood, his member throbbed as he felt how wet and hot she was for him.

He wanted, no, needed to take her.

Draco harshly plunged two long fingers, deep into her core, stretching her, preparing her for his invasion.

A sound escaped her throat.

He felt her stiffen as he quickly pumped his fingers in and out of her, her throaty moans sounding strained. She gripped his arm with force, her blunt nails digging into his heated skin.

In that moment, Hermione felt a sense of déjà vu, and heard the whisper of a sound. It was faint, and sounded far away, but became clearer with each passing second. She soon realized it was her own muffled voice, screaming at someone that was pounding into her, uncaring of his size and strength.

She suddenly remembered how he had taken her body as if she belonged to him, forcefully tearing into her innocence, unconcerned with the extreme pain he was causing her. He had been brutal, solely concerned with his own pleasure, while she was trapped underneath him as pain she had never before experienced coursed through her.

Horror slammed into her, hard, even as her body burned and throbbed with need, as she realized she was about to go through the whole ordeal once again.

She gasped, going rigid with shock.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, concern lacing his voice as he noticed her features were twisted in pain, her eyes swimming with tears.

He could feel her small muscles clenching around him, but her body was tensing up.

"Stop," she said, abruptly pushing at the hard wall of his chest.

Tears started leaking out of her eyes as confusion and self-loathing seized her mind. She wanted him, wanted him more than anything, and that alone made her feel humiliated. To encourage her tormentor, the wizard that plagued her nightmares and kept her awake at night, to tease him to this extent while knowing what a horrible, vile man he was, was crazy.

What was wrong with her? Malfoy had to be one of the most evil men she knew, yet here she was practically throwing herself at him.

As more memories of the grievances he had committed against her resurfaced, the harder she found it to breathe comfortably.

"I can't," she whimpered, turning her face away from his heated gaze, whilst continuing to shove at his chest. Her breath coming in uneven, sudden gasps.

Even as she fought him, her body wantonly moved against him, a reaction she couldn't suppress. It was almost an instinctual need to want to merge their bodies.

Draco very gently removed his fingers away from her entrance. Fire was raging inside his belly, and spreading through his bloodstream. He burned for her, but despite this he tried with great effort to ignore his body's ravenous demands, to contain the inferno threatening to destroy his self-control.

The mixed signals she was giving him confused him.

She was telling him over and over like a mantra that she couldn't go through with it, yet her hips moved against him, her body actively seeking his out.

He wanted to bury himself deep inside her, to feel her come undone in his arms, but not like this.

Not while she was crying and panic-stricken. No, he wanted her to be sure.

Draco was about to ask her what was wrong when he felt waves of fear crash over him. It wasn't his fear, it was hers, and it was overwhelming. It was exactly like the last time he had somehow experienced her emotions, except this time the fear had doubled. He still didn't understand how or why he could pick up on her emotions, but right now he didn't care. He just wanted to know why she was so terrified.

He moved his body away from hers, giving her room to calm down, but remained close enough to look into her eyes, which were presently closed.

There was a small moment of silence, the water licking at their nude bodies, while he waited for her erratic breathing to stabilize.

She slowly opened her enormous, teary eyes as his gaze roamed over her delicate face, trying to figure out why her fear was still so palpable.

He closed the distance between them, and gently lifted her chin.

"What are you so afraid of?" he questioned, searching her eyes.

"I'm afraid of you," she answered, trying to avert her gaze.

He tightened his hold on her chin, not allowing her to look away from him.

Draco was about to ask her to be more specific when he felt a strange fluttering in his mind.

Images and flashbacks in which he saw himself through someone else's eyes started to invade his mind. It didn't take long for him to figure he was seeing himself through her eyes. The memories were jumbled, except for one. He inwardly flinched at the specific memory.

Hermione looked into Draco's hazy eyes, it looked almost as if he were under some sort of enthrallment.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to get out of the shower, but he was blocking her exit.

Without warning Draco suddenly released her chin, and took a step back.

He looked at her with a weird, bewildered expression in his eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: Did you like it? Don't hate me for teasing you guys! This had to happen for my story to proceed in the way that I want it to! Oh, and if there are any spelling mistakes, it's Caitlin's fault for not being awake to revise my writing. Reviews are always treasured. Thank you for reading.**


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